INTRODUCTION

Less than twelve years after Iowa attained statehood (on December 28, 1846) the legislature enacted the law establishing the “State Agricultural College and Model Farm,” and providing for a Board of Trustees to manage the college. Governor Ralph P. Lowe signed the bill on March 22, 1858, the date now recognized as that of the founding of the institution.

During the spring of 1859 the Trustees studied the question of the lo­cation for the new college. Limited funds available from the state treasury influenced the Board in its decision to accept donations pledged by citizens of Story and Boone counties, and the site west of Squaw Creek was selected on June 21, 1859. A picnic to celebrate that event was held the following July 4 at a location east of what is today the university cemetery.

The earliest developments on the grounds for the new college were more concerned with the Model Farm needs than with the academic aspects. Construction of the Farm House and the Cattle Barn began in 1860; the College Building, Old Main, was not started until 1865, due partly to financial burdens of the Civil War period.

Since that time the institution has grown and changed in many ways. It is the aim of this volume to record the history of the physical development of what is now Iowa State University – its buildings and its grounds – through the years since it was a “monotonous plain of waving grass only broken here and there by scattered groves.”¹

Those people who were instrumental in organizing the college and who saw its beginnings would be utterly astounded if they could return today to view what can best be described as an academic park.

The compilation of the material herein was prompted by my inability to find ready answers to questions I asked about the campus and its buildings when I came to Iowa State as University Architect in October 1966. It is hoped that questions others may ask about earlier buildings and campus changes will be adequately answered here.

There are some gaps in the history that cannot be filled to complete satisfaction. Some of the missing facts are tantalizing, such as the exact location of the brickyard where the first bricks were made for Old Main. Precise locations of some early minor buildings – sheds, small barns, poultry houses, etc. – cannot be determined, nor do the records contain dates of construction or dates when they were razed or otherwise removed.

Every effort has been made to incorporate only factual information that can be obtained from official documents, including maps from different periods. Where assumptions are made these are distinguished from known, verifiable data.

It should be understood that only the physical aspects of the campus and its buildings are discussed here, leaving the academic, organizational and social parts of the history to others. Much more detail could be written about some of the buildings while, for a few, it has been difficult to find adequate documentation to determine even mini­mum facts.

Many campus buildings have been known by different names at different times. The articles prepared for individual buildings are arranged alphabetically under the current (or most recent) names, but each shows the earlier names as well, and the earlier names are also cross-referenced in the index to make identification relatively simple.

A discussion of the farms and farm buildings is not included in the scope of this volume. That story can be a challenge to some future researcher. My notes include numerous references to help should such a project be undertaken. Those notes will become a part of the University Archives for future reference.

All of the material developed for use in the preparation of this vol­ume will also be in the archives for anyone wanting to pursue greater detail on any of the subjects covered here. It includes excerpts from the Minutes of the Boards, from the Biennial Reports and from the student newspapers, with indexes prepared to make quick reference possi­ble.

SOURCE MATERIAL

Many publications have been consulted in the preparation of this work. The principal ones are listed in the Bibliography. The major sources, however, have been the Minutes of the Boards governing the institution, and the student newspapers. The annual and biennial reports of the Boards to the governor or legislature have also been very helpful.

In using the student newspapers it is essential to be careful in as­suming accuracy in all items. Where contemporary activities are re­ported the accounts can be trusted but in stories of past events there are frequent errors of fact. Other publications, also, may in­corporate false information.

Old maps of the campus have been the primary source for determining locations of buildings no longer extant, and for the routes of ear­lier roads and drives. Minor structures did not always appear on contemporary maps, probably because they were considered too unimpor­tant; or if shown they were not identified as to name or use.

Early photographs of buildings, and general campus views, have been helpful. It is unfortunate that more pictures of more sections of the campus were not taken and preserved from the nineteenth century.

Research done by Dorothy Kehlenbeck (now Mrs. Ralph Bean) while she was curator of the college history collection has been helpful, especially in the records of the occupants of the various houses once on the campus.