Three cottages replaced the old dormitories in Stark Hall. In 1997, the cottages were named in honor of three individuals that had been involved with the Missouri School for the Deaf as students or faculty. One was Laura Redden Searing, an 1857 graduate of MSD. Writing under the pen name of "Howard Glyndon," Laura became a well-known journalist and poet of the last century. Another cottage was named for William Cooper Reid, a teacher at MSD from 1902 until his death in 1945. As an African-American, his entire teaching career was spent under the segregation system of that era.
The last cottage was named for Jack R. Gannon, a 1954 graduate of MSD. After teaching at the Nebraska School for the Deaf, he joined the Gallaudet University staff. He retired in 1996 as Special Assistant to the President for Advocacy. He is best known as the author of Deaf Heritage: A Narrative History of Deaf America.
