Martin Hall serves as a reminder of Archie and Nancy Martin, who turned their home into the first residence hall in Ames where black students were welcome.

Before the Civil Rights Movement, black students were not allowed to live with white students at Iowa State. They had difficulty contacting other black students to room with, making housing a major obstacle. But there was one place off campus where young black students of the time were welcomed; a place where they could have a safe, comfortable environment to live in – the Martin’s home.

Archie and Nancy Martin built their home in Ames in 1920. Nancy was often regarded as the stronger of the two. She kept the family together as they came out of slavery and adjusted to freedom when they lived in the South. With love, she taught and demonstrated discipline. Nancy worked as a cook for a fraternity and for a husband-and-wife doctor team. Archie, always gentle and smiling, worked for the Northwestern Railroad Company. He was often seen walking to his grandchildren’s home, always wearing a suit coat and hat. The children who played at the school near the Martins’ residence loved to come up to the fence when Archie was in the backyard and talk to him.

The Martins saw a need for housing for black students. Archie and Nancy, both born into slavery, knew they had a duty to offer these students a place to live. The Martins opened their home to those students, cooked them meals and made sure they kept up their studies.

Pauline Martin and Mary Martin Carr of Ames, the granddaughters of Archie and Nancy, recall the tough love their grandparents gave their tenants.

“They did have strict rules. The students had to study and conduct themselves properly or they couldn’t stay there. They were good mentors to the students,” Pauline said.

The discipline taught to the students by the Martins helped them to focus on their schooling and get the most out of their education. Many of those who stayed with the Martins went on to receive their doctorate degrees at Iowa State. One student, Samuel Massie, went on to work on the Manhattan Project and became the first black to teach at the Naval Academy.

“They just encouraged them to do the best they could; they gave them a good home atmosphere,” Pauline said. “They taught us that education was the best way to get ahead.”

The students lived in the upper portion of the house. The three bedrooms on the second floor would house between six and nine students at a time.

Pauline and Mary don’t remember very much about the students themselves, though Pauline recalled that some of the students frequently played classical music on her grandmother’s piano in the living room. The children were not allowed to disturb the students while they were working on their studies.

Their time with their grandparents was spent like any other family: admiring the poppies that grew in the garden in the backyard, eating grandma’s ice cream or counting license plates on the cars traveling on Lincoln Highway, which was visible from the Martin’s front porch. Archie and Nancy made sure to spend quality time with their grandchildren without interfering with the students’ work.

“My folks didn’t want us to get in the way. I mean, we would always go over to visit our grandparents, but we weren’t allowed to bother the students,” Pauline said.

Although they were very devoted to their students, the Martins remained dedicated to having a close-knit family.

“One thing I remember and treasure is their closeness as a family. Their children were very close to them. My dad, my aunt and my uncle who lived in Ames always looked in on them,” Mary said. “They were just good, caring people who minded their own business but still cared for others.”

The Martins knew they could only do so much for black students who came to Iowa State. Michelle Boettcher, director of Martin Hall, said that Archie undertook the task of convincing Iowa State to allow black students to live on campus.

“The Martin family was pretty involved in making Iowa State University a place where all students would feel welcome,” Boettcher said. “Archie actually met with the president at the time to discuss opening the residence halls to African-American students.”

After a year went past and no changes were made, Archie once again met in 1926 with the president of the university. This time, he saw results.

“After that second meeting, the halls became open to all students,” Boettcher said.

For many years, the Martins’ story was almost unknown, even by the residents of Ames. Then, after a street marker was dedicated to Nancy and Archie in downtown Ames, their story resurfaced.

“It dawned on me that they functioned like the director of housing, dining, the dean of students,” Tom Hill, vice president of student affairs, said. “They performed a student affairs-type role.”

Many find it fitting that the residence hall on Union Drive was named Martin Hall in honor of Archie and Nancy. The hall, complete with a piano like the one in Nancy’s living room, reminds everyone about the couple who offered their home to those young students as a residence hall when they had nowhere else to turn.