In 1935 two rooms in Ferris Hall were allocated to a fledgling museum of archaeology and presided over by T. M. N. Lewis, UT professor of anthropology. Parts of the collection of artifacts, stored in the basement of West Sophronia Strong Hall, were on display in the rooms. The first room displayed jewelry, bowls, pots, and cooking articles and utensils. The second room displayed skeletons removed from Indian mounds in Jefferson County in advance of inundation by TVA.