Della Irving spoke at Hampton's graduation exercises in 1877, on "Our Work as Women", and won a cash prize presented by the First Lady, Lucy Webb Hayes.

In 1890, she returned to her alma mater to serve as "lady principal" at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute.

[4] By 1916 Franklin had buildings and a land to run a small farm and board dozens of women students, funded mainly by donations solicited by Hayden.

[1] Della Irving married a school principal and fellow Hampton alumnus, Lindsay Hayden, in 1880; he died within a few months after their wedding.

[6] A large monument was erected in her memory at Southview Cemetery in 1927, and in 1953 Hayden High School in Franklin was named in her honor[7] (the site is now the Hayden Village Center, a residence and community center for seniors run by Senior Citizens of Southeastern Virginia).