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This building on the northwest of campus was constructed, after much controversy, in what had once been a pecan grove. From 1938 until 1991, it was the home of the School of Textiles. As NC State has maintained its reputation as one of the best textile schools in the nation, Nelson Hall has been enlarged repeatedly. Today, the building houses the College of Management and the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

Nelson Hall is named after Thomas Nelson (1872-1953) who served State for 48 years, headed the textile department from 1901, and was the school's first dean from 1925-1943. Nelson received his certificate in weaving and design at the Preston Textile School, later studying at the Guilds of London Institute and with a noted authority at the Preston school. He came to the U.S. and worked in various mills in New England, receiving a diploma from the Lowell (MA) Textile Institute. His insistence in teaching innovative design and his promotion of textiles was instrumental in the industry's later diversification in North Carolina.