This building was constructed after March 1949. The boulder in front of it has a bronze plaque listing the men and women of the community who served in the Armed Forces or American Red Cross during World War II. The Sewanee Woman's Club initiated that memorial garden after the war, and the American Legion Post 51, which had been formed following World War I, raised funds to construct the building to the north of the garden.
The goal was to create a space for recreation for the whole community, especially young people who lacked adequate space for wholesome entertainment and gatherings. It was to become a "unified center of community and patriotic interest." One good example of its use in this way was the Sewanee Boy Scouts troop meeting space in the basement with Scout leader McCord Yates from the 1950s-1970s.
Dr. Alexander Guerry, Vice Chancellor of the University when these plans were first being discussed, approved of them but died in 1948. His widow provided the bronze plaque intended to be a 'permanent memorial of simple beauty and dignity' set in front of three hemlock trees.
The American Legion, the nation's largest wartime veterans service organization has more than 12,000 posts throughout the United States. Sewanee's Bonholzer-Campbell Post 51 (named in honor of the two Sewanee citizens killed in action in WWI) had not acquired a building following its creation from the former Sewanee Ambulance Unit which had distinguished itself in France during WWI. The proposition for a permanent building in Sewanee, however, had been discussed; the idea to create a home and community recreation center would, Dr. Guerry believed, "fill a long-felt need" in the community. The Woman's Club agreed to transfer the lease to the Legion post, and the Post became responsible for maintenance of the Memorial Park in front of the American Legion community building.
Though social events for the community have declined considerably over the last several decades, the space has been used in a variety of ways and most recently as a home for BODYWORKS YOUNIVERSITY until February of 2022.
Photos courtesy of the University Archives and American Legion post and Una McBee