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State officials lacked funds to complete the first building on the University of Oregon Campus quickly; construction lasted for over three years, finishing on 10/16/1876. The University named the "Old Building" in Eugene for the jurist, Matthew Deady (1824-93), who had a long career on the Oregon Territorial Supreme Court (1853-1859) and the US District Court for the District of Oregon (1859-1893); Deady served as President of the University's Board of Regents for 20 years, from 1873-1893, and upon his death, named the historic first building for him. The University's Board of Regents commissioned William W. Piper (1827-1886) in 1873 to design this important first building, although its completion was delayed due to a lack of funds exacerbated by the serious recession that descended on the US in 10/1873. Piper filed suit against the Union University Association to recover his fees, and won, but did not get paid until 1877. (See Edward Teague, "The Architecture of the University of Oregon: UO's Architects, Artists, & Builders,"Accessed 12/10/2012.) Piper collaborated with building contractor W.H. Abrams, who also constructed Villard Hall,

Deady Hall was listed on the Historic American Building Survey on 04/11/1972, and it and neighboring Villard Hall (1886) were both named an Historic American Landmark on 05/05/1977.