Archie and Nancy Martin were gentle, caring people who provided rooms for African-American students attending Iowa State College in the 1930s and 1940s.  In search of a better life, the family had moved from Austell, Georgia to Ames in 1915.  Archie (1857-1960) found work with the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad as an assistant to the yard master.  Nancy (1856-1947) was a cook for a local Ames doctor as well as for one of the Greek houses on campus.  The couple had twelve children: Hattie, Richard, Luther, and Ernest Simmons from Nancy’s first marriage, and Julia Mary Angeline, Archie Jr., Nellie Elmira, Ruth, Julia, Paul E., Robert W. and Alphonso Martin.

Since its founding as a land-grant institution in 1858, Iowa State University has always welcomed students of color.  Filipino students attended in the 1890s and the first black student, George Washington Carver, graduated in 1896.  Until the late 1940s, however, unofficial campus residence policy stipulated that students of color had to room together. This effectively meant that black students, being few in number, had to find accommodations off-campus.  Always supportive of education as a means of getting ahead in life, Archie expressed concern when learning about this restrictive college policy.  He became a proponent of equal treatment of black students regarding campus room and board.

Archie and three of his sons built a house at 218 Lincoln Way with a spacious second floor accommodating three bedrooms and bath.   In later years the upper floor served as a rooming house for black students.  Perhaps 20-some African Americans lived with the Martins at one time or another.  Many earned advanced degrees and went on to make major contributions to society.  James Bowman served with the Tuskegee Airmen and became a Des Moines school administrator.  Samuel Massie worked on the Manhattan Project and later became the first black professor at the U.S. Naval Academy.  Massie’s name was included in the list of 75 most distinguished chemists compiled by Chemical and Engineering News.  Former roomers recall that the Martins also served as mentors and disciplinarians enforcing a studious atmosphere throughout the house.  As a footnote to the Archie and Nancy Martin story it is interesting to recall that a daughter, Nellie Elmira, housed female black students in her home at 118 Sherman Avenue during this same time period.

On November 5, 2004 Iowa State University honored the Martins by dedicating a residence house in their honor.  At a standing-room-only ceremony, suite number 2 in the Union Drive neighborhood appropriately became the Archie and Nancy Martin Hall.