 Buckman Hall was named for Henry Holland Buckman, the member of the Florida Legislature who wrote the Buckman Act, which created the modern University of Florida in 1905.Thomas Hall was named for Gainesville mayor William Reuben Thomas who supported the donation of of land and $40,000 from Gainesville to the state so that the Florida Legislature would build the university in Gainesville rather than in Lake City.The buildings are constructed of brick, have three and a half floors, and are late Gothic Revival-Tudorbethan in style.