After it was destroyed by fire in 1824, Johnson designed much of its replacement, as well as other buildings on the UVM campus (e.g. Grasse Mount in 1804, and Pomeroy Hall in 1828).

[8] To make way for the construction of Morrill Hall during 1906, the barn and a line fence on the property were demolished,[17] while the original "Johnson House" was moved to 590 Main Street (i.e. the current location of the Dudley H. Davis Student Center).

A copper box was placed inside the corner stone containing a number of historical documents causal to the building's construction (e.g. the Morrill Bills of 1862 and 1890, the Hatch Act of 1887, the Adams Act of 1906, State legislation addressing the State Agriculture College and Experiment Station, the 18th report of the Vermont Experiment station, et al.) by Gov.

[7] The basement operated as a dairy facility (including a creamery), served as storage for farm machinery,[20] and housed a mail room, and the power and heating plant.

[17][21][22] When Morrill Hall had first opened in 1907, it housed the Departments of Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry, and the University Extension Service, which administered a total of 60 students and 10 faculty.

[26] During that year, after the passing of the Purnell Act (which had significantly increased federal endowments for all 48 of the nation's agricultural experiment stations), the building's overcrowded conditions began to be addressed when the university moved the offices and research laboratories of the dairy department[27] into the renovated "old medical college building" (known today as Pomeroy Hall) located diagonally across the street from Morrill Hall.

[34] Terrill's introduction of "practical education" for women within her curriculum (e.g. Chemistry, Physiology, Bacteriology, which were prerequisites for most of her courses) was considered to be highly controversial among higher-education institutions of the day.

Later reflecting that she may not have had the courage to come to Vermont had she known beforehand how much prejudice against women she would encounter,[33][35] Terrill nevertheless had a successful academic career, which included; the authorship of a book, serving as a charter member of the American Home Economics Association,[36] and the co-founding of the Burlington Community Center (today known as the Sara M. Holbrook Community Center) in Burlington, Vermont in November 1937.

[37] Taking an interest in a number of humanitarian efforts, Professor Terrill had introduced educational programs to people in rural areas of the State to improve nutrition, consumer practices, and sanitation.

A notable colleague (and former student), Mary Jean Simpson (1888-1977)[39] had once remarked; "No one ever knew how many girls Bertha helped finance out of her own pocket.

Around 1992–93 (possibly sooner), the Vermont Center for Geographic Information (VCGI), an "Affiliate Organization" of UVM at the time, was located on the upper floor of Morrill Hall.

From a centered and (generally) west-facing, semi-portico structure extends the main entrance, which is topped with a pediment adorned with the Great Seal of Vermont.

The wide sixteen-step inner staircase ascending from the main entrance to first floor is made of marble and complemented by walls of carved paneling.

A 2000 UVM Historic Preservation Program report describes Morrill Hall as a "Neoclassical style building"[47] "Three stories in height, including a tall basement, it is rectangular with a widely overhanging, flared, and bracketed hipped roof of red Spanish tile.

"A 1956 architectural analysis report further describes Morrill Hall as "late Victorian Eclectic" with its balance of structure and some of the window arches having a "Palladian influence":[48] "The stress placed by the architect on the entrance is reminiscent of the Baroque, although the rest of the building has none of the distortion of most examples of that style.

In addition to emphasizing the entrance by projecting it forward, Buckham added two massive Ionic columns which flank the main door.

Here he borrows from the Classical Revival era but provides his own touch by resting the columns on brick supports which rise several feet above ground level.

Open steel grated stairways and railings are assembled with horizontal platforms positioned at each exit, and at a halfway point between each level.