An archeological excavation of Hampden-Sydney’s original academic building, constructed in 1775 and 1776, is currently underway. Under the supervision of Dr. Charles Pearson and assisted by Hampden-Sydney College students in the HIST385 course, the excavations are uncovering the buried remains of a three-story brick building originally known as the “Academy House” or simply “The College.” Erected in 1775-1776, the Academy House contained twelve rooms and served as the principal classroom building for Hampden-Sydney College for over forty years, until the construction of the building now known as Cushing Hall in the 1820s. By 1830, the Academy House was deteriorating and between 1830 and 1832, it was demolished. Some of the bricks from the Academy House were reportedly used in the construction of the new President’s House, the north section of Graham Hall. Among the students who attended classes in the Academy House was William Henry Harrison, President of the United States. Over the years, the precise location of the Academy House was lost until the foundations now being excavated were discovered by a ground-penetrating radar survey in 2017.