Dr. Alberta Corbin, an 1893 KU graduate and professor of German, campaigned for many years for residence halls for women. The site of the first women's residence hall at KU was within the original eight-acre tract of the campus. The English Colonial-style dorm named after Dr. Corbin opened in 1923. It housed 120 women in single and double rooms, and a kitchenette and living room were provided on each floor. An early plan to build eight dormitories in a quadrangle around the site of the University's first building, North College, was abandoned. Two other residence halls were actually constructed in the area, one that was connected to Corbin and is now considered part of present day Corbin Hall.

In 1927, Torch Chapter of Mortar Board placed an iron fire basket near the site of old North College. For many years it was a tradition to light a "torch of higher learning" from the fire in the basket and carry it to the stadium as part of the freshman induction ceremony. The fire basket and an original stone step from the threshold of old North College now reside near Corbin Hall in a garden planned and funded by HMOF.

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