Pennsylvania and Penn State's Agricultural Heritage:
A Chronology
 1850-1899 
Hildebrandt Library Home
1850-1859
1850
 The United States boasts "120 colleges and universities, 47 law schools, 42 theological seminaries of collegiate grade," and 6 engineering schools. However, not a single U.S. institution "offers comprehensive instruction in the agricultural sciences" (Bezilla, 1987, p. 9).
 Pennsylvania leads the United States “in the production of cloth, iron, leather, and wood”
(Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
1851  January 21: 358 delegates, representing 55 county agricultural societies, meet in Harrisburg to organize a statewide agricultural society.
1853
 "Joseph Fawkes of Pennsylvania is the first to successfully make a steam powered tractor for plowing fields." The tractor costs between US$10,000-$15,000 (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
 December 25: Mira Lloyd Dock (1853-1945) is born. She later becomes a forester and preservationist (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
1854
 April 13: Pennsylvania Governor William Bigler signs an act incorporating the Farmers High School of Pennsylvania. Among the individuals involved in the project were: the Frederick Watts (Carlisle), Hugh N. McAllister (Bellefonte), James Tracy Hale, Andrew Gregg, James Irvin, James Miles, GovernorJames Pollock, Elliot Gresson, and Andrew Gregg Curtin. Several sites in central and western Pennsylvania are considered for the site of the new school.
1855
"The Farmers' High School receives its charter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" ("Milestones 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
September: The Board of Trustees of the Farmers' High School vote "to build the new school on a 200-acre tract in Centre County donated by local iron master and agriculturalist James Irvin. The location was considered sufficiently rural that students would be free from the distraction and temptations associated with large cities" (Bezilla, 1987, p. 12).
1856
1857
The economic Panic of 1857 hits the United States.
 Frederick Watts builds "a 116-acre model farm in Cumberland County to promote his ideas about farm efficiency" (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, "Agriculture in Pennsylvania").
The Board of Trustees of the Farmers' High School commission William Waring to begin preparations for agricultural experiments at the School.
1859
Vermont Representative Justin Smith Morrill introduces a bill in the U.S. House that would require "the federal government to give a portion of its public lands to the states, which were in turn to sell the land and use the proceeds to endow instruction in agriculture and the mechanic arts at new or existing colleges and universities" (Bezilla, 1987, p. 15). President James Buchanan later vetoes the measure.
February 28: Jacob Nolde (1859-1916) is born. Nolde later becomes a textile manufacturer and forester who "contributed to the development of Pennsylvania forestry" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Conservation).
The first class of 69 students is admitted to the Farmers' High School. Dr. Evan Pugh is the Institution's first president.
William C. Waring is General Superintendent, Professor of Horticulture, and chief administrative officer of the Farmers' High School.
Professor J. S. Whitman is listed as Professor of Botany, Physiology, Zoology, and Veterinary in the first catalog of the Farmers' High School (Frank D. Kern, "Botany and Plant Pathology at Penn State, 1859-1955: Historical Account, p. [1]).
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1860-1869
1860
November 6: Abraham Lincoln is elected President of the United States.
Winter: The Farmers High School of Pennsylvania is renamed the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania.
1861 Vermont Representative Justin Smith Morrill introduces a revised version of the bill he originally introduced in 1859.
"The academic year runs from February to December, and a US$100 yearly fee covers tuition, room and board, laundry, and all other costs except chemistry laboratory fees. Students are required to perform three hours of labor daily on the College farm or wherever their services are needed" (Bezilla, 1987, p. 20).
The College becomes the first agricultural school in the United States to award baccalaureate degrees. "At the close of the 1861 session, eleven students receive the degree of Bachelor of Scientific Agriculture" (Bezilla, 1987, p. 20).
The College catalog announces that a Master of Scientific Agriculture degree--"a first for any American institution of higher education--would be awarded to students who conduct a year of 'special investigations' after having earned the baccalaureate degree" (Bezilla, 1987, p. 21).
William Waring resigns from the College and returns to his nursery business.
March 4: Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the sixteenth President of the United States.
April 15: President Abraham Lincoln declares a state of insurrection in the United States.
1862 May 15: The United States Department of Agriculture is created.
Spring: Trustees of the Farmers' High School petition the Centre County court to change the institution's title to the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania.
July 2: President Abraham Lincoln signs into law the Morrill Act. Under the terms of the Act, each state is granted 30,000 acres of public land for each senator and representative under apportionment based on the 1860 census. Proceeds from the sale of the apportioned lands are to be used "to the endowment, support, and maintenance of at least one college where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the states may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes on the several pursuits and professions in life." (Act of July 2, 1862, ch. 130, 12 Stat.503, 7 U.S.C., Sec. 4(6)).
1863
January 1 : U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, which declares that slaves in the seceded states are now free.
 April 1: Governor Andrew Gregg Curtain formally accepts the Morrill Act, "pledging the 'faith of the State to carry the same into effect.'" The Agricultural College of Pennsylvania "is named the sole recipient of Pennsylvania's land-grant funds" ("Penn State Started as Farmers' High School in Agriculture Back in 1850," Penn State Collegian, September 2, 1937, p. 3; "Milestones 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
July 1-July 3: Union and Confederate troops clash in the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.
July 13-15: New York City experiences violent draft protests.
November 19: President Abraham Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg Address.
The College awards the first Master of Scientific Agriculture degrees to C. Alfred Smith and Augustus King. Smith would later become a professor of chemistry at Penn State.
December: Old Main is completed.
1864 George C. Caldwell, Ph.D., an associate of Pugh's at the University of Gottingen, is named professor of agricultural chemistry.
J. S. Whitman becomes Professor of Botany, Physiology, and Horticulture.
April 29: Dr. Evan Pugh, President of the Agricultural College dies of typhoid fever. William Henry Allen, retired head of Girard College and former professor of natural science at Dickinson College succeeds Pugh.
November 8: Abraham Lincoln is reelected President of the United States.
1865 January 31: The U.S. Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment which abolishes slavery in the United States.
March 4: Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as President of the United States for a second term.
April 9: General Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Virginia.
April 14: John Wilkes Booth shoots U.S. President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater, Washington, DC. In addition, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward is stabbed and wounded in a related assassination attempt inside his Washington, DC residence.
April 15: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln dies; Vice President Andrew Johnson is inaugurated President.
April 26: John Wilkes Booth is mortally wounded inside a Virginia barn.
June 30: All eight conspirators are convicted for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln; four are sentenced to death.
July: President William H. Allen appoints John Fraser a professor of mathematics and astronomy at the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania.
August 11: Gifford Pinchot (1865-1964) is born in Simsbury, Connecticut. Pinchot later becomes the first trained forester in the United States, Governor of Pennsylvania, and the “first to use the term conservationist.
1866
William H. Allen resigns as president of the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania. He is succeeded by John Fraser, previously professor of mathematics and astronomy at the College.
J. S. Whitman resigns as Professor of Botany, Physiology, and Horticulture (Frank D. Kern, "Botany and Plant Pathology at Penn State, 1859-1955: Historical Account, p. [1]).
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1867
 "In compliance with a clause in the Morrill Act, the [Pennsylvania] General Assembly authorizes ten percent of the income from land sales to be used to purchase three experimental or model farms. Land adjacent to the campus is acquired for the central farm, while eastern and western experimental farms are established near" West Grove, Chester County and Indiana, Indiana County respectively (Bezilla, 1987, p. 25).
J. Trimble Rothrock (Botany, Physiology, and Horticulture) and Henry James Clark (Zoology, Botany, and Geology) join the staff of the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania (Frank D. Kern, "Botany and Plant Pathology at Penn State, 1859-1955: Historical Account, p. [1]).
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1868 New York native William A. Buckhout graduates from the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania.
May: John Fraser resigns his post as President of the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania. Thereafter, he becomes chancellor of the University of Kansas and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction for Kansas. He later returns to Pennsylvania to become a professor at the Western University of Pennsylvania (Bezilla, 1987, p. 24; William E. Marks, 1941, p. 104; Penn State University Libraries, 1996).
December: John Fraser is succeeded as President of the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania by Thomas Henry Burrowes, formerly superintendent of Pennsylvania's common (public) schools. Burrowes also serves as professor of civil government and practical agriculture; in addition, he directs most of the experimental work in agriculture at the College (Bezilla, 1987, p. 24; William E. Marks, 1941, p. 104).
1869 Gypsy moths are imported to Medford, Mass., where they are used for a silk production experiment by E. Leopold Trouvelot. However, the moths are later released after they "fail to live up to their commercial promise for the silk industry" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Resources).
July: President Thomas Henry Burrowes institutes a "Harvest Home" reception which is staged over several days. "The public is invited to attend a series of faculty lectures, special exhibits, and demonstrations, all" with agricultural themes. It was hoped the reception would become an annual event at the College (Bezilla, 1987, p. 25).
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1870-1879
1870
 The Pennsylvania State Grange is founded by Oliver Hudson Kelly.
The College hosts the second annual "Harvest Home" reception. This year, the event lasts one week, "with the College providing room and board to farmers" traveling from a distance. One of the major attractions of this year's reception is a contest between thirteen mechanical reapers from across the state (Bezilla, 1987, p. 25).
J. Trimble Rothrock resigns from the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania. Rothrock recommends one of his former students, William A. Buckhout as his successor (Kern, n.d., p. 2).
1871
William A. Buckhout returns from Harvard to teach botany, geology, horticulture, zoology, and forestry. At Harvard, Buckhout had done graduate work under the renowned botanist Asa Gray.
February: President Thomas Henry Burrowes dies.
March: Thomas Henry Burrowes is succeeded as President of the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania by Harrisburg-native and Methodist minister James Calder.
September: The first two female students are admitted for baccalaureate instruction at the College.
Circa 1871 President James Calder decrees that the College's academic year will run from late August to June. In addition, he abolishes the 3-hour manual labor requirement.
John Hamilton is named Professor of Agriculture at the College.
Professor William A. Buckhout is appointed Professor of Botany, Geology and Zoology. "For the next 30 years he had the title of Professor of Botany and Horticulture" (Kern, n.d., p. 2). 1872
 October 28: "The epizooty, a disease affecting horses, which were still the primary way to carry goods, made its appearance in Philadelphia. It continued its ravages for about a month; during that time almost every horse in the city was affected. The transportation of goods and other articles almost ceased for some days, and wagons and carts were drawn through the streets by men" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
1873
The failure of the United States' largest bank, Jay Cooke & Company, sparks a nationwide recession.
1874
By decree of the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County, the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania becomes The Pennsylvania State College.
In an effort "to steer the institution away from a strictly agrarian orientation," President James Calder discontinues the College's annual Harvest Home reception (Bezilla, 1987, p. 26).
March: Former U.S. President Millard Fillmore dies.
The Captain and First Mate of the steamship Pennsylvania were washed overboard during an Atlantic storm. "The mate's house and the wheel-house were also wrecked and carried off. The water poured into the elegant saloons until they were about one fourth full." The Pennsylvania, owned by the American Line, runs between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Liverpool, England (Easton [MD] Gazette, March 14, 1874).
1875
 January 4: "The Pennsylvania Railroad shops at Altoona will today commence working nine hours per day and six days in the week, having for the past six months been working eight hours per day and five days in the week" ("By Mail and Telegraph," New York Times, January 4, 1875, p. 1).
January 6: In his Message to the Legislature, Governor John Frederick Hartranft acknowledges that the state is still struggling to recover from the Panic of 1873. "Furnaces, mills, and factories" remain "closed, mining shafts decaying and myriads of unemployed men, with no resources to provide for themselves and their families against the rigors of winter" ("The Governor's Message--Condition of Labor in the State--Compulsory Education," New York Times, January 7, 1875, p. 6. ).
1876
The Pennsylvania General Assembly creates a Board of Agriculture "to oversee the proper use of scientific methods in farming" (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, "Agriculture in Pennsylvania").
 The U.S. Centennial Exposition is held in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1877
Railroad strikes which began in New England in February and spread to Pennsylvania in April. In July, the strikes culminate in a large riot in Pittsburgh. In response, Governor John Hartranft calls in federal troops to assist Pennsylvania National Guard units in quelling the unrest.
September 29: J. Horace McFarland (1877-1948) is born. McFarland later becomes "a printer, preservationist, civic activist, photographer, author, and rosarian." He also is dubbed the "Father of the National Park Service" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
October 3: Otto Emery Jennings (1877-1964) is born. Jennings "became a botanist, naturalist and a member of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History staff in Pittsburgh, [Pennsylvania] and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
1878
William A. Buckhout professorship will no longer include Geology and Zoology. Instead, Buckhout devotes his energies entirely to Botany and Horticulture (Kern, n.d., p. 2).
January 28: A smallpox outbreak in Huntingdon prompts the Borough Council to ban all public assemblages ("Afraid of Small-pox," New York Times, January 31, 1878, p. 5). 1879
The Commercial Fertilizer Act is passed in Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, "Agriculture in Pennsylvania").
A special state legislative committee launches an investigation into the College's alleged mismanagement and failure to meet its intended objectives. The committee's subsequent report cites the trustees failure to "carry out the object for which the magnificent land grant was given..." (Penn State University Libraries, 1996).
Circa. 1879 The first gypsy moth outbreaks begin in the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood where the moths were accidentally released a decade earlier (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
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1880-1889
 John Swayne Sr. of Kennett Square becomes the first commercial mushroom grower in the United States (Ag Sciences 2007, February 2007, p. [2]).
1880
Pennsylvania has 19,791,000 acres in farmland, the largest number of acres recorded in the state's history (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
James Calder resigns as president of the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania. He is succeeded by Joseph Shortlidge.
Whitman H. Jordan is named professor of agriculture. Jordan begins systematic experimentation in agriculture at the College. The Jordan Soil Fertility Plots are later named in his honor.
1881
Agricultural chemist Whitman H. Jordan begins "a study of fertilizers and soil fertility, a project that becomes the first major long-lasting research at Penn State. The experimental site consisted of 144 plots of corn, oats, wheat, and mixed clover and timothy. These one-eighth-acre plots were treated with various combinations of fertilizers and lime so that researchers could determine which treatments produced the best crop yields" (Murphy, 1987, p. 3). January: In response to continued criticism regarding the operation of the College, the Board of Trustees launches an investigation (authorized by the Legislature) into "the problems and needs of the College" (Penn State University Libraries, 1996).
April: Joseph Shortlidge resigns as president of the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania. The College's Board of Trustees appoint vice president James Y. McKee as Acting President.
1882
Agricultural chemist Whitman H. Jordan "begins sending bulletins to [approximately 3,000] Pennsylvania farmers to explain the results of experiments on fertilizers, germination rates of commercial seeds, and other topics." "This is the first distribution of free agricultural research bulletins by a land-grant college" (Murphy, 1987, p. 3; "Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
George W. Atherton becomes the seventh president of the Pennsylvania State College.
January: A Farmers' Institute is held at the College; the Institute marks the first midwinter short course offered at the institution.
 May 10: John Daniel Coffman (1882-1973) is born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He later becomes chief forester in the National Park Service.
1883
The Butter and Cheese Act is passed in Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, "Agriculture in Pennsylvania").
July: Pennsylvania Governor Robert E. Pattison vetoes a bill that "would give Penn State $10,000 to set up an agricultural experiment station." According to Pattison, "'The farming communities of the state are absolutely indifferent about the existence of the College and do not believe it of any use'" (Murphy, 1987, p. 3).
1884
 September 16: Joseph Simon Illick (1884-1967) is born in Easton, Pennsylvania. He later becomes Pennsylvania State Forester.
1885
 Arbor Day is first designated by Pennsylvania law.
Pennsylvania Governor Robert E. Pattison vetoes another bill to set up an agricultural experiment station (Murphy, 1987, p. 3).
March 3: The Pennsylvania State Veterinary Medical Association holds its annual meeting at Early's Hall, Philadelphia. "One of the principal objects of the meeting was the drawing up and forming a proper code of ethics for the guidance of the members of the profession in the matters of professional etiquette" ("Diseases of Animals," Philadelphia Inquirer, March 4, 1885, p. 2).
March 4: The inauguration ceremony for U.S. President Grover Cleveland is held in Washington, DC. 5,000 National Guard members from Pennsylvania, under Governor Pattison and General Hartranft march in the gala inaugural parade.
July: "The U.S. Commissioner of Agriculture calls a meeting of 78 presidents and other representatives from the land-grant schools." Penn State President George Atherton is elected to a three-man committee charged to work with sympathetic congressmen to write and lobby for a bill that would support state experiment stations." The resulting bill was later known as the Hatch Act (Murphy, 1987, p. 3).
December 2: The Pennsylvania State Board of Agriculture met at the opera house in Bloomsburg. "A very important report on oleomargarine and its harmful effects was presented, followed by addresses by J. R. Townsend, of Columbia County, on 'Grapes for the Farm Garden;' 'Quince Culture,' by Dr. James Calder, lecturer of the Pennsylvania State Grange; 'Fruits for Family Use,' by G. Hiester, one of the managers of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Society; 'The Best Breeds of Dairy Cattle,' by William Fairweather, of Erie county; 'Pure Bred Horses,' by Dr. E. Harvey, of Delaware county; 'Poultry for Profit and Pleasure,' by M. P. Lutz, of Bloomsburg, and 'Bee Keeping' by H. H. Brown of Columbia county...This evening Prof. W. A. Buckhout, of the State College, delivered to a very large audience a very instructive address on the 'Life and Habits of Insects'" ("Fresh Woods and Pastures New," Philadelphia Inquirer, December 3, 1885, p. 5).
1886
1887
Electric lights are installed in Old Main.
The Animal Disease Control Law is passed in Pennsylvania.
March 2: The Hatch Act becomes law. The Act provides Penn State and other land-grant institutions "a permanent annual appropriation to support agriculture research" (Murphy, 1987, p. 3).
April: "'86--H. J. Patterson is chemist for the Prof. of Agriculture, at the Pennsylvania State College"
(The Free Lance 1, no. 1 (April 1887): 10).
May: "Wanted: A little more imagination in microscopic observations in botany" (The Free Lance 1, no. 2 (May 1887): 19).
May: "The boys make nightly visits to the flower gardens, to pluck 'the forbidden fruit' for the young ladies" (The Free Lance 1, no. 2 (May 1887): 19).
May: "'62--Henry T. Harvey, Esq., has been appointed a delegate by the Clinton County Agricultural Society, to the meeting to be held here during Commencement week for the purpose of electing trustees" (The Free Lance 1, no. 2 (May 1887): 21).
May: "'83--Geo. C. Butz is at Beaumont Cal., engaged as a Landscape Gardener and Florist. His thorough acquaintance with hot-houses, &c., would make him a valuable man to put in charge of that work here, when the new experimental station is established" (The Free Lance 1, no. 2 (May 1887): 22).
June: "The Pennsylvania State College: Leading departments of study : 1. Agriculture (three courses) and agricultural chemistry; with constant illustrations on the farm and in the laboratory. 2. Botany and Horticulture; theoretical and practical. Students taught original study with the microscope" (The Free Lance 1, no. 3 (June 1887): xiv).
June 3: The Pennsylvania Legislature appropriates $3,000 to help support the planned Agricultural Experiment Station. June 7: "Prof. and Mrs. Buckhout gave the faculty and senior class...a very congenial entertainment" (The Free Lance 1, no. 3 (June 1887): 33).
June 8-9: "The Spring meeting and General Farmers' Institute of the Pennsylvania State Board of Agriculture was held in the Court House, at Bellefonte, and at the College." "The programme of Thursday at the College consisted of three sessions, viz: Morning--(1) Address of welcome by President Dr. Atherton; (2) Address by Dr. George Cooke, V. Pres. of Rutgers College; (3) Inspection of different departments of the College. Afternoon--(1) Obituary notice of J. S. Keller; (2) Obituary notice of Hon. D. H. Foresman. A sumptuous dinner was served in the armory by C. G. McMillen, of the Brockerhoff House. In the evening Prof. L. T. Osmond, of the College, who is Meteorologist of the Board, delivered an illustrated lecture in the Court House, at Bellefonte, on the 'Physics of the Atmosphere.'" (The Free Lance 1, no. 3 (June 1887): 34).
June 30: "In accordance with the provisions of the Hatch Act, an Experimental Station" has been "established here, by vote of the trustees, ... with the following board of managers: Henry Prentiss Armsby, Ph.D., director; William Frear, Ph.D., vice-director and chemist; William A. Buckhout, M.S., botanist; George C. Butz, B.S., horticulturist; William C. Patterson, superintendent of farm; and H. C. Patterson, assistant chemist. It will be their duty to investigate such subjects as are of immediate importance to the farmers of the state, and to publish the results in reports and bulletins which will be distributed free of charge to all citizens of the state who may apply for them. Specimens of agricultural products, when of public interest, are examined and reported upon free of charge. Correspondence is invited, and inquiries upon agricultural matters will be answered as far as possible. All communications should be addressed to the Agricultural Experiment Station, State College, Centre Co., Pa."
(The Free Lance 1, no. 5 (November 1887): 60).
October: "The village (State College) is enjoying quite a rush in building. With two new churches, four new store rooms and several houses, one would hardly know the old place" (The Free Lance 1, no. 4 (October 1887): 46).
October: "Work has been suspended on the new laboratory, until next spring, on account of the scarcity of stone cutters" (The Free Lance 1, no. 4 (October 1887): 46).
October: "'83--George C. Butz, assistant in Horticulture and Botany, at this place, was in California during '86 and '87 as a florist and landscape gardener. In '83 he took post graduate studies in natural history and taught in Preparatory Department, and during this time wrote several articles to prominent magazines on botanical subjects" (The Free Lance 1, no. 4 (October 1887): 48).
November: "The new green-houses are rapidly nearing completion"
(The Free Lance 1, no. 5 (November 1887): 58).
November: "President George W. Atherton was elected president of the first convention of presidents of Agricultural and Industrial Colleges and Directors of Experimental Stations, which met at Washington, D.C." (The Free Lance 1, no. 5 (November 1887): 61).
November: "Was it not understood that the electric lights would continue till midnight, in case the storage batteries should prove deficient? If the lights are continued to be shut off at 11 o'clock, a demand for a rebate at the close of the term would not be out of order"
(The Free Lance 1, no. 5 (November 1887): 59).
1888
"The Pennsylvania Forestry Association is established as the first organization of its kind in the United States to promote conservation practices in the forestry industry" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
"The original Botany building is built." However, owing to the building's small size, "both laboratory and classroom facilities are provided in other buildings" (Kern, n.d., p. 7).
George C. Butz joins the Department of Botany and Horticulture; his "interest was in the field of Horticulture" (Kern, n.d.).
1889
February: "Dr. [William] Frear has been elected Chemist of the State Agricultural Society" (The Free Lance 2, no. 8 (February 1889): 132).
April: The building housing the offices for the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station is dedicated. The building was later used for art education's craft studios (Murphy, 1987, pp. 4-5).
April: "'91. J. A. Fries has accepted a position as an assistant chemist in the Experimental Station" (The Free Lance 3, no. 1 (April 1, 1889): 165).
May 31: A flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvania kills 2,209 people.
June: "The following buildings occupy sites on our campus: The Main Building, Botanical, Chemical and Physical Laboratories, Assembly Hall, Mechanic Art Shop, President's residence and five residences for professors. The Main Building has recently been renovated, and the Botanical, Chemical, and Physical Laboratories and Assembly Hall are new buildings, scarcely completed. The laboratories have been heretofore confined to the basement of the main building...The Botanical Laboratory is a neat and firm structure of two stories, fifty-three feet in width, with a battered-stone base and brick superstructure. This contains class rooms, laboratory, offices and the botanical and zoological museums. Greenhouses stand in the rear of the building, which is within seventy yards of the Main Building and directly back of the west wing. A large plot of grass to the front and rear of this building is laid out in numerous flower beds and walks, making this one of the most beautiful parts of the campus...Two of the six residences on the campus are built of stone: these are occupied by the President and Vice President. The other four are frame, and occupied by Professors Reeves and Jackson, Lieut. Pague and Dr. Armsby. Professors Osmond, Buckhout and Barnard have homes in the village. The other professors occupy rooms in the college buildings. Among the other buildings might be named the Pennsylvania State Experimental Station, located east of our college grove. This is a large and handsome building of modern architecture, two and a half stories high, splendidly furnished, and though not a part of our college, it is of value to us in many ways" (The Free Lance 3, no. 3 (June 1, 1889): 189-190).
June : "During the last few years the courses have been increased and extended. The following are the four year courses now open to students: General Science, Latin-Scientific, Civil, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Advanced Chemistry, a course of Physics, Natural History and both a general and an advanced course in Agriculture. In addition to these courses there are three special courses of two years each--Ladies, Chemistry and Mechanic Arts--on completion of which a certificate is granted" (The Free Lance 3, no. 3 (June 1, 1889): 191).
Fall : "Dr. [Henry Prentiss] Armsby and Prof. [George C.] Butz attended the last meeting of the State Agricultural Society at New Castle" (The Free Lance 3, no. 5 (November 1889): 228).
Fall: "Prof. [William A.] Buckhout was present at the last meeting of the of the State Forestry Commission held at Philadelphia" (The Free Lance 3, no. 5 (November 1889): 228).
November: "State College can now boast of a barber and a jeweler shop. The next thing in order is a millinery establishment" (The Free Lance 3, no. 5 (November 1889): 222).
November: "Shame! Shame! Boys. A beautiful Autumn, and a plentiful crop of chestnuts, yet the girls had to get up a party of themselves and go chestnuting" (The Free Lance 3, no. 5 (November 1889): 223).
November: "'86. The Brazilian Government has applied through our Minister for a man to start an agricultural experiment station in that country similar to those of the United States. This position has been tendered to Harry J. Patterson, and he has still under consideration of accepting it. The position is a responsible one, and would place him at the head of the scientific agriculture of Brazil with a salary of about US$2,000 a year and all expenses paid" (The Free Lance 3, no. 5 (November 1889): 227).
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1890
Pennsylvania's population is 5,258,113.
"Sprays are first introduced in Pennsylvania to control insects in orchards" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
The Pennsylvania state and United States federal governments begin "their attempts to eradicate the gypsy moth" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
"Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station chemist William Frear writes the bulletin Simple Methods of Determining Milk Fat and sends it to farmers" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
January: "Dr. Armsby, Dr. [William] Frear, Prof. Butz, and Prof. Caldwell are booked for addresses before the Huntingdon Co., Farmers' Institute, during this month" (The Free Lance 3, no. 7 (January 1890): 262).
January 15: "Prof. Butz and Dr. Armsby read papers at the meeting of the State Horticultural Society held at Mifflintown, Pa." (The Free Lance 3, no. 7 (January 1890): 262).
May: "State College can boast of having the finest campus of any eastern college, and is second to none in the United States. Our campus comprises fully fifty acres, and more is continually being added" (The Free Lance 3, no. 7 (May 1890): 27).
October: "The departments of Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics and Botany have each the addition of an instructor"
(The Free Lance 4, no. 4 (October 1890): 54).
October: "'How wonderfully the College has improved!' Such is the exclamation we hear from all who return to P. S. C., after any absence, long or short. The campus has been both a pleasure and a pride to successive classes of students, and it is yearly becoming more beautiful. Those who have been away for several years look with admiring eyes on the transformation effected by the removal of Prof. Jackson's house, the barn, and by the erection of the Experiment Station buildings, Laboratories, Armory, Ladies' Cottage, and the four Professors' residences. Those interested in agriculture are delighted with the conveniences of the remodeled barns and with the creamery, which, patterned after the best models, is now nearly completed"
(The Free Lance 4, no. 4 (October 1890): 54).
October: "The early frosts this year have been doing their work and as a result, many chestnuting parties may be seen strolling away to the mountains on Saturday mornings. As the yield is large this year, no better opportunity presents itself for pleasure and exercise, than the forming of these parties"
(The Free Lance 4, no. 4 (October 1890): 62).
October: "'91. C. H. Zink is employed as an assistant at the Experimental Station here"
(The Free Lance 4, no. 4 (October 1890): 64).
1891
"There is just as much science in agriculture as there is in any other industry. But has it kept pace with the advances made in other industries? We think it has not....More science must be applied in agriculture. In these times when every other industry is compelled to keep abreast of the advancing times, we should not expect agriculture to remain stationary; we must look for more than the addition of new forms of machinery; we must expect changes to take place for reasons based on chemical analysis. Many have been the opportunities for such development through the colleges organized to teach agriculture as one of the courses of study, together with the experiment stations which have usually been connected with such colleges....The demand for educated agricultural men to fill the positions required by these stations is greater than the supply. To-day the graduate in an agricultural course has as good prospects for success professionally as any other graduate. It is for him with his knowledge of chemistry, botany, zoology, mathematics and the many other useful studies which he has completed, to point out and have applied those advantages which are at present unknown to the great masses of our farmers" (["Few Persons Really See the Benefits to be Derived from a Course in Agriculture,"] Free Lance, February 1, 1891, pp. 127-128).
January: "Prof. T. F. Hunt, class of '84 University of Illinois, has been elected to the chair in Agricultural in our college and also Agricultural Chemist at the State Experimental Station. Prof. Hunt has filled a similar position for the last three years for his Alma Mater" ("Personals," The Free Lance, February 1, 1891, p. 137).
January 18: "Three prominent members of the State Board of Agriculture: Mr. Ailman, Col. Young and Mr. Serril were the guests of Dr. Armsby" ("Personals," The Free Lance, February 1, 1891, p. 137).
January 27: "Prof. Hamilton read a very interesting paper before the State Board of Agriculture [sic] ... at Harrisburg in which he discussed the subject of the Equalization of Taxes...Papers were also read by Gabriel Hiester, '68, and by Trustees Herr, Woodward, and Downing" (The Free Lance, February 1, 1891, p. 135).
1892
The Carnegie Steel Corporation in Homestead locks out workers planning a strike. Subsequent clashes between Pinkerton Detective Agency gunmen hired by Carnegie Steel and the steel mill workers resulted in deaths and injuries on both sides. In response to the violence, Governor Robert Pattison sends in 12,000 members of the state militia to help end what became known as the Homestead strike (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, "Governor Robert Emory Pattison (1850-1904)" in Pennsylvania Governors Past to Present, n.d.)
A Chatauqua home study program in agriculture, the forerunner of correspondence courses, is first offered by the College.
1893
The first state park in Pennsylvania is created at Valley Forge. The park later is designated a national historic site, operated by the U.S. National Park Service.
1893-1896 The failure of the U.S.-based Reading Railroad leads to nationwide recession in the United States.
1894
1895
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is established. The three basic functions of the previous Board of Agriculture (i.e., "law enforcement, education, and prevention of plant and animal disease" are transferred to the newly established department. (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, "Agriculture in Pennsylvania").
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is established.
1896
August 29: State College is incorporated from College Township, Centre County.
Summer school begins as "a two-week period of uninterrupted practical training in the laboratories, shops, and fields." The session is "required of undergraduates in engineering and later in industrial chemistry" (Pennsylvania State University Libraries, 1996).
"The College is organized into several schools." The Department of Horticulture is placed in the School of Agriculture; meanwhile, the Department of Botany is placed in the School of Natural Science ("History of the Department of Horticulture at the Pennsylvania State University," p. 4). 1897
Pennsylvania passes a law "authorizing state purchase woodlands for forest preserves" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
"Mr. M. E. McDonald, instructor in Dairy Bacteriology, spent a number of weeks in studying the milk supplies of Philadelphia, Reading, Harrisburg, York, Scranton, Williamsport, Pittsburg, Altoona, and New York, for the purposes of making a preliminary study of their standard character and purity. Mr. Hayward made a careful study of the dairy markets of Pennsylvania and adjacent states" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 136).
Summer: "Dr. Frear made a special examination, for the Department of Agriculture, of the general character of the cheese sold in central and northeastern Pennsylvania. Mr. J. A. Fries assisted in the work" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 136).
Summer: "The home of Prof. Buckhout has been entirely remodeled during the summer" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 132).
August 20: "Early in the evening...the College barn was discovered to be on fire. In spite of the hard work of the people who were present the entire barn, together with all of its contents, with the exception of the livestock, was completely destroyed. The crops were valued at two thousand dollars and the implements at three hundred dollars. The losses were covered by insurance. The cause of the fire remains a mystery" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 135).
September 22 : "The sale of cattle by the College Experiment Station...amounted to nearly $1700, the prices being very satisfactory" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 133).
September 22: "Director [A. C.] True, of the Office of Experiment Stations in the United States Department of Agriculture, made an official visit of inspection of the Experiment Station here" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 134).
Fall: "American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations appointed a committee to take charge of work of preparing a collective exhibit for the Paris Exposition in 1900. Director Armsby of this station was made chairman; Prof. W. H. Jordan, of the State Experiment Station at Geneva, N. Y., second member. The other members are: A. N. Harris, of Maine; M. H. Scovell, of Kentucky; and A. C. True, of Washington, D. C. The committee will hold a meeting in Washington next month" (The Free Lance, October 1897, pp. 136-137).
October: "How many of the students know that the borough (State College) now supports a policeman?" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 133).
October: "A number of students have entered as 'specials' in agriculture, to take regular instruction in selected subjects with the College classes. This is in accordance with the provision made to that end in last year's catalogue announcements" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 134).
October: "The old gateways and stiles have been removed from the College grounds since the (State College) borough passed the ordinance preventing cattle from running on the streets. Why not remove the fence also?" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 135).
October: "A course in ice cream making will be offered in the Dairy School this winter. This is an important and growing industry throughout the state. The work done here will be largely on a wholesale basis, although some attention will be given to building up a transient trade. A large number of students have already applied for admission" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 135).
October: "Prof. Watson, Mr. and Mrs. Hayward, and Mr. Patterson served as judges at the State Fair, held in Johnstown" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 136).
October: "At the recent State Fair, the College and Experiment Station exhibited two car loads of cattle and swine, and many favorable comments were made, especially in regard to the cattle" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 136).
October: "Mr. Hayward acted as judge of the cattle at the Burgettstown Fair. Prof. Watson, Mr. Patterson, and Mr. Hayward will judge the livestock at the Columbia County Fair, at Bloomsburg" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 136).
October: "Prof. Hamilton who is a director of the Institutes of this State (Pennsylvania), has made an arrangement with the trustees of the College by which the instructors of the Station and School of Agriculture will be detailed to take charge of the scientific side of the institute instruction during the coming winter. They are as follows, ranking according to order: Dr. Frear, Prof. Butz, Mr. Fries, and Mr. Hess" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 137).
October: "The School of Agriculture will offer this year four special short courses: Creamery management, beginning in January; cheese making, beginning February; short course in agriculture, beginning March; home dairy course, beginning April. This school has already received nearly as many applications as it can entertain. Owing to the limit of space the department has been obliged to admit no more than forty pupils, and this year the school will give preference to those who have had creamery experience" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 137).
October: "The Agricultural Chautauquan Course of Home Reading, of which Prof. Watson is superintendent, has now over 2700 enrolled students. A new series of printed helps is being prepared by several professors for the use of students in this course" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 137).
October: "About seventy-five farmers are testing the adaptability of the sugar beet to this State. The Department of Agriculture furnished the seed and it was distributed by the Station. The Station will publish a detailed report of the venture" (The Free Lance, October 1897, p. 137).
1898
August 16: Jerome I. Rodale (1898-1971) is born in New York City. Rodale later becomes publisher of Rodale Press in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Rodale is the "first American advocate for sustainable agriculture and composting" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
J. Plummer Pillsbury is appointed to the staff of the Agricultural Experiment Station.
"William Frear helps organize the first National Pure Food Congress" (Pennsylvania State University, Vice President for Research, "History of Research at Penn State, 2006). 1899
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