At the heart of the campus sits Johnston Hall, home to the Ontario Agricultural College since 1931. The building we see today is not the original. Morton Lodge was the first administration and teaching building bought for the Ontario Agricultural school in 1874. As demands for space grew, extra stories and wings extending to the right and left were added. By 1880 the lodge had evolved into the old residence. 

Almost 50 years later the Fire Marshal condemned the building. Budget approval for a million dollar new building came just before the Great Depression, with Johnston Hall formally opening in 1932. It contained accommodation for over three hundred and fifty five students, offices and other amenities The hall is named after the school's third Principal William Johnston, who can be credited for saving the school in its first year after the tumultuous departure of two Principals. 

During World War Two, the Royal Canadian Air Force took over Johnston Hall to serve as a wireless school. Much of the campus was fenced off from students and staff while OAC faculty taught wireless training classes in mathematics, radio and Morse code to future operators of bombing crews. 

Serving as a residence for nearly a century and still home to OAC's administration, Johnston Hall contains many stories of Aggies life from flooding the dean's office, pranking friends with farm animals in the halls to climbing the Clock tower. Aggie students and alumni are well known for their antics and close bond. 

Today Johnston Hall stands proudly representing the University of Guelph's rich heritage in teaching and research in agriculture, food and rural communities