The main academic building, called “Old Main” today, was the first building constructed on the Miller School of Albemarle’s 1,600-acre campus.  When it opened its doors in the fall of 1878, it housed the entire school operation. It was designed in 1876 by Richmond architect Albert Lybrock. Builder Thomas Woodroffe, who came from England via Richmond, supervised construction of Old Main from breaking ground in the summer of 1876 through its dedication on August 7, 1878. (Woodroffe added the South and North wings in the first half of the 1880s.) Following the dedication ceremony, attended by dignitaries and at least 3,000 people from across Virginia, the Richmond Dispatch described the building as “A Magnificent Structure... combining Gothic and Elizabethan styles, its grandeur strikes the beholder at once with astonishment... Its interior arrangements are perfect [and it] commands an extensive view of the Blue Ridge on the west.” The paper’s only criticism: it was “a pity this splendid building should be in such an inaccessible place!” It was accessible enough, though, to be featured on the December 1886 cover of Scientific American magazine.

Today, Old Main contains the English, history, and language department classrooms, administrative offices, dorm rooms, the Chapel, and the Dining Hall.