McIntire House
Title
McIntire House
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Description
The McIntire House, built in 1928, was the home of the late H. Ruth McIntire, a professor of Cooperative Extension for 34 years until her retirement in 1958. In 1967, McIntire donated the house, along with 1.7 acres of land, to the university in order to commemorate past university presidents Hugh P. Baker and Ralph A. Van Meter, as well as nature education professor William Gould Vinal. These three men, as well as McIntire herself, were enthusiasts of recreation and nature conservation.
The McIntire house was located near on Clark Hill road, in close proximity to the Butterfield dormitory. While it is unclear how exactly the house was utilized after its donation, it is likely that it handled the affairs of the surrounding nature sanctuary. In 1987 the house received a new name and a new purpose; it became known as the William S. Clark International Center and was the new home to the International Programs office. The buildings new name and purpose was meant to honor William S. Clark, the university’s first president, for his help in establishing the Imperial College of Agriculture in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan in 1876. The building was now meant to handle many of the university’s international affairs including the Foreign Students Office, the overseas study and exchange programs, and other international programs.
On April 11, 1991, the McIntire house was destroyed in a fire that State officials believed was intentionally set. There was close to $500,000 worth of damage done, including extensive smoke damage to the entire second floor. Student and faculty alike attempted to salvage what they could from the remains by sorting through documents, removing the burned edges, and placing them in protective plastic sheets. Fortunately, many of the important documents that the building held had duplicate copies stored in other buildings.
The building was unable to recover from the damage and International Programs was relocated to the Goodell Building. It is unclear whether or not there was any further mention of the fire’s origin beyond the State’s speculation that it was set intentionally. In a bizarre coincidence, H. Ruth McIntire, who had been living in town since her retirement, died on the very same day the building met its own demise.
The McIntire house was located near on Clark Hill road, in close proximity to the Butterfield dormitory. While it is unclear how exactly the house was utilized after its donation, it is likely that it handled the affairs of the surrounding nature sanctuary. In 1987 the house received a new name and a new purpose; it became known as the William S. Clark International Center and was the new home to the International Programs office. The buildings new name and purpose was meant to honor William S. Clark, the university’s first president, for his help in establishing the Imperial College of Agriculture in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan in 1876. The building was now meant to handle many of the university’s international affairs including the Foreign Students Office, the overseas study and exchange programs, and other international programs.
On April 11, 1991, the McIntire house was destroyed in a fire that State officials believed was intentionally set. There was close to $500,000 worth of damage done, including extensive smoke damage to the entire second floor. Student and faculty alike attempted to salvage what they could from the remains by sorting through documents, removing the burned edges, and placing them in protective plastic sheets. Fortunately, many of the important documents that the building held had duplicate copies stored in other buildings.
The building was unable to recover from the damage and International Programs was relocated to the Goodell Building. It is unclear whether or not there was any further mention of the fire’s origin beyond the State’s speculation that it was set intentionally. In a bizarre coincidence, H. Ruth McIntire, who had been living in town since her retirement, died on the very same day the building met its own demise.
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Source
UMass Special Collections and University Archives
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