Candler Hall is named for the man who was serving as governor when the state appropriated funds for its construction.
Governor Allen D. Candler was born in Auraria, GA (Lumpkin, County) in 1834 and elected governor in 1898, serving two terms. He had previously as Secretary of State for Georgia and a county in the southeastern part of the state is named for him.
A veteran of the Civil War, he is most known for the preservation of Colonial and Confederate records.
He is author of three volumes of the Encyclopedia of Georgia and contributed to 30 volumes regarding colonial, revolutionary and Confederate history.
He was the oldest of 12 children, grew up on a mountain farm and was educated in country schools. He graduated from Mercer University in 1859, taught in Banks County and studied law before joining the Confederate Army as a private.
Five days after his enlistment, he was elevated to the rank of first lieutenant. He was wounded multiple times fighting in the battles of Vicksburg, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta and Jonesboro. In the battle of Jonesboro, he lost an eye. At the end of the war, he was a Colonel serving under General Joseph Johnston.
He married a former student and had 11 children. The family moved to Jonesboro where he worked in agriculture, manufacturing and the railroad industry and constantly pushed for the end of reconstruction.
Prior to his election as Secretary of State and then Governor, he had served as mayor of Gainesville (1872) GA House of Representatives (1873) Sate Senator (1877), U.S. House of Representatives (1883). He died in 1910 and is buried in the Alta Vista Cemetery in Gainesville.
Candler Hall opened as a dormitory in 1902. Today, it still stands overlooking Herty Field (now a spacious park) and serves as an office building for several UGA departments.
