The Towers (Ohio State)

Justin S. Morrill Tower & Abraham Lincoln Tower
The Towers
Lincoln (front) & Morrill (back) Towers
General information
Location	Lincoln Tower 1800 Cannon Drive Columbus, Ohio 43210 Morrill Tower 1900 Cannon Drive Columbus, Ohio 43210
Country	United States
Current tenants	Center for the Study of Student Life First Year Experience Service2Facilities Student Advocacy Center Student Health Insurance Student Life Budget and Planning Student Life Facility Management and Logistics Student Life Fiscal Support Services Student Life Human Resources University Residences & Dining Services
Construction started	29 March 1965
Completed	8 August 1967
Inaugurated	11 November 1967
Cost	$16,973,663 US Dollar
Client	The Ohio State University
Owner	The Ohio State University
Height	260 ft
Technical details
Floor count	26
Website
Lincoln Tower Morrill Tower

Lincoln Tower 1800 Cannon Drive Columbus, Ohio 43210 Morrill Tower

Center for the Study of Student Life First Year Experience Service2Facilities Student Advocacy Center Student Health Insurance Student Life Budget and Planning Student Life Facility Management and Logistics Student Life Fiscal Support Services Student Life Human Resources

Abraham Lincoln Tower & Justin S. Morrill Tower, also known as The Towers, Morrill Tower or Lincoln Tower are two undergraduate residential houses at The Ohio State University. The Towers are located on the west campus of The Ohio State University across from the Drake Union off the east banks of the Olentangy River. Morrill Tower is to the right of Ohio Stadium on Cannon Drive. The towers are in close proximity of OSU's RPAC (Recreation and Physical Activity Center) and the Wexner Medical Center.

The Towers were dedicated on November 11, 1965 with the groundbreaking ceremony having been held in March 1965. The buildings were not completed until August 1967, but the first ten stories were completed and opened to students for the Autumn Quarter of 1966.

Justin S. Morrill Tower was named for Justin S. Morrill. Morrill was a U.S. Representative (and later Senator) from Vermont. Morrill introduced legislation, which would have had states sell public land in order to provide an endowment for a state university, which failed. Morrill reintroduced the bill to Congress in 1861, and this time it passed and was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on July 2, 1862. The Land Grant—or Morrill—Act, as the legislation came to be known, provided the means to establish The Ohio State University, and defined its mission. The Morrill Act stated that the proceeds from the sale of state lands was to go into an endowment fund that would enable designated colleges and universities to offer tuition more cheaply because of the federal support. It also stipulated that the designated colleges and universities teach both scientific and classical studies, as well as military training. (The bill was signed in the midst of the Civil War, and few men recruited had any grasp of military strategy or tactics.) It also stipulated that these universities and colleges provide mechanical and agricultural instruction.