West Central School of Agriculture
and Experiment Station Records, 1915-2003
Summary Information
West Central School of
Agriculture and Experiment Station Records
1915-2003
University of Minnesota. West Central School of
Agriculture and Experiment Station (Morris, Minn.)
3 boxes (3.0 cubic
feet)
Language: Collection materials in
English
uarc 580
The collection contains
annual reports, newsletters, circulars, research reports, yearbooks and
proceedings of the West Central School of Agriculture and Experiment Station, a
division of the Department of Agriculture at the University of Minnesota.
University of
Minnesota Libraries. University of Minnesota Archives
Access and Use
The majority of the collection was deposited in University archives in
1950, 1967 and 1968.
Items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house
only.
Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision
of the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). Requests to publish should be
arranged with the University of Minnesota Archives.
This collection was processed with funds provided by the State of
Minnesota through the Minnesota Historical Society from the Arts and Cultural
Heritage Fund. Please help us improve access to the archival collections - take our
five question survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XL2DGPZ
West Central School of Agriculture and Experiment Station records,
University Archives, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
Historical Note
The Board of Regents, at their meeting on October 26, 1909, received a
report from a University committee charged with “examining the lands,
buildings, and equipment of the Indian School at Morris, which has been
accepted by an act of the last legislature, entitled ‘An act accepting the
Indian School at Morris, Minnesota, from the United States for an Agricultural
School.’”
The President’s Report in the 1911-1912 University Bulletin described
the transaction, “The 1909 session of the Minnesota Legislature accepted from
the National Government the gift of the property formerly used as an Indian
School (in Morris, Minnesota), and appropriated funds for its maintenance as an
Agricultural School. The control of the institution was placed under the Board
of Regents of the University of Minnesota.”
The West Central School of Agriculture opened on October 3, 1910, on
the Morris campus with 103 students and the stated purpose of “training of
young men and women for the profession of farming. The courses are planned and
the subjects are taught with the purpose of making the students masters of this
work. The courses are sufficiently extended to give, not only a fairly complete
technical equipment in the business of production, but a working basis in the
economic and sociologic aspects of farm life” (1912-1913 Bulletin). The
School’s administrative home was the Department of Agriculture (College of
Agriculture), and the School would remain a part of the College’s
administrative structure until 1960.
Admission to the West Central School was open to young men and women,
and when possible, students were asked to “present county or high school
certificates in the common branches.” The School welcomed students “even though
they may not be able to show graduation from the usual eighth grade work”
(1912-1913 Bulletin). Courses of study were outlined for up to five years at
the School. In the 1910s, men and women shared classes in subjects such as
English, industrial geography, algebra, economics, and rural sociology, while
young men studied physics, animal husbandry, and farm management and young
women studied laundering and sanitation, sewing and cooking, food chemistry,
and dressmaking.
The Legislative Commission on Schools of Agriculture and the
Legislative Commission on Higher Education submitted reports in 1959
recommending that the Board of Regents develop collegiate programs at the West
Central School and Northwest School (Crookston) of Agriculture. At the Board of
Regents meeting on October 31, 1959, the following position was taken, “The
Board of Regents, following study for more than two years, has concluded that
it is now desirable and feasible to begin the phasing out of high school level
instruction and to begin offering collegiate level instruction at the West
Central School.” The first year of college-level liberal arts courses began on
the Morris campus in the fall of 1960. School of Agriculture students who had
been admitted in 1959 were able to continue with their course of study through
1963, but after that year, School of Agriculture curriculum was no longer
offered on the Morris campus.
In 1960, when the high school became the University of Minnesota -
Morris, a four-year liberal arts college, the campus retained the teaching
facilities of the Experiment Station. The Station was and remains a regional
center for agricultural research. Initially, as the Station developed, animal
husbandry, crop production, and horticulture were the core research and
education strengths. The research and education focus remained as such until
about 1990, when, in response to changes in agriculture and rural community
life, the Station was renamed the West Central Research and Outreach Center
(WCROC). New programs emphasizing rural sociology, agricultural economics and
sustainability, in addition to traditional research subjects, define the
current research agenda.
West Central School of Agriculture Superintendents
- E. C. Higbee, Superintendent, 1910-1917
- Theodore H. Fenske, Superintendent, 1938-1947
- Allen W. Edson, Acting Superintendent and Superintendent,
1947-1958
- Rodney A. Briggs, Superintendent, 1958-1961
- Ralph E. Smith, Acting Superintendent and Superintendent,
1961-1963
- (After the School closed in 1963, Smith continued to serve as
superintendent of the West Central Experiment Station until his retirement in
1982.)
Collection Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of annual reports, circulars, newsletters,
histories, proceedings and yearbooks of the West Central school and experiment
station at Morris, MN.
Subject Terms
- This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog
of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about
related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these
headings.
- University of
Minnesota. West Central School of Agriculture and Experiment Station (Morris,
Minn.) -- Archives.
- University of
Minnesota. School of Agriculture.
- Agricultural colleges --
Minnesota -- Morris.
- Schools -- Minnesota --
Morris.
Detailed Contents
| Location |
Title |
|
Box 1 |
Annual Reports, 1938-1952.
(2 folders) Box 1
|
| |
"Effect of Cultivation Upon Yields of Alfalfa Hay and
Seed" 1939 Box 1
|
| |
"Forests Farm Boys and Fun" by Theodore Fenske
1935 Box 1
Note "An account of the first conservation field trip ever taken by a
Minnesota School of Agriculture group": including School staff, students, and
4-H club members.
|
| |
"Innovations: News from the North Central Experiment
Station" 1991-2003 Box 1
|
| |
"Life at the West Central School of Agriculture"
1935, 1939 Box 1
|
| |
Proceedings of the Dairy Research Conference, "Bypass
Protein in Dairy Rations" 1989 Box 1
|
| |
Report of Lamb Feeding Investigations 1931 Box 1
|
| |
Report of the West central Substation, Morris 1915-1926
(1 volume) Box 1
|
|
Box 1 |
Sheep and Lamb Feeders Day 1957-1976, 1985-1992
(3 volumes and 1 folder) Box 1
Note Proceedings of research presented at annual Lamb Feeders Day.
|
|
Box 1 |
"Study of Barriers to Participation in Post-secondary
Education as Perceived by Adults in West Central Minnesota" 1975 Box 1
|
| |
West Central Experiment Station
News 1981-1991 Box 1
|
| |
West Central School and Station
Circular of Information 1922, 1924 Box 1
|
|
Box 1-2 |
West Central School News 1917-1980
(3 volumes and 1 folder) Box 1-2
|
|
Box 2 |
"The Moccasin" 1915-1939
( 24 volumes ) Box 2
|
|
Box 3 |
"The Moccasin" 1940-1960
( 20 volumes ) Box 3
|
|
Home |
About Us |
Search Tips |
Finding Aids FAQ |
View Basket |