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The Heritage House, as it is now known, was built in 1927 at an original cost of $15,000. The home served as the private residence of three University presidents for forty-one years: Dr. Samuel Whitley, Dr. James G. Gee, and Dr. D. Whitney Halladay. Dr. Whitley, his wife Lucie, son Portlan, and daughter, Mary Lou, moved into the new house on December 27, 1927. President Gee and wife Cecile lived here from 1947 until his retirement in 1966. Dr. Halladay and his wife, Pat, lived in the house less than two years before moving to the current President's Home after it was completed in 1968.
The two-story structure is of a modified colonial style, with red brick veneer and approximately twelve rooms consisting of 2900 square feet. A side-yard Charleston garden was the featured landmark of the home. Described in the 1932 student yearbook, The Locust, "its doors open to offer unselfish hospitality to all . . . its cultured interior the scene of delightful gatherings . . . the finishing touch of the campus."
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