Clemson University - Taps Yearbook (Clemson, SC)

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Slim ' Rhodes Electrical engineering made clear

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50th Anniversary of Clemson College completed befell the Chemistry Build- ing when its doors were opened in 1890. And that building still stands as the north portion of the modern structure. The first professor to hold sway here was Col. M. B. Hardin, whose job it was to teach the sophomore engi- neers that much-feared bugabooo — chemistry. The late Dr. Brackett, then the chemist for the experiment station and an assistant to Col. Hardin, is accredited with having performed the first actual work in the newly fin- ished building. At that time the Chem- istry Building did not house a separate school as it does now, but was mainly a service school, especially to the school of agriculture. In 1900 the portion to the south of the building was added. About this time the analysis of fertilizers was begun in this building. The last addition was made in 1937, when the laboratories in rear of the building were completed. And now the work that was begun here in the school ' s infancy is still be- ing carried on. The building in all its faded majesty stands today a monu- ment to the man who made possible the Clemson of today. ENGINEERING Old Mechanical Hall, completed in 1891, is a far cry from the building we know today as the Engineering Building. Its story exemplifies the evolution of a college, as does no other single building on the campus. The first Engineering department was housed in a two-story brick structure located just south of the Post Office. A smaller portion in rear was the en- gine room and boiler room. Besides the labs, which were scantily equipped, was a machine shop, a wood shop, a drawing room, and a classroom. Stonewall Tompkins, from the Uni- versity of Virginia, was the first Pro- fessor of Electrical and Mechanical Dr. Rock Calhoun using that geological toucli Dr. and Mrs. F. H. H. Calhoun The Doc ' takes a stroll after classes Home of the Test Tubes 17-

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Fitz Fitzpatrick and Andy Anderson tear the architects apart Tingaline Tingley AC and DC currents in the classroom ' Jughead Harris and Two Wonts its ' Wee Willie Klugh Our oldest pencil-pusher John Lane English prof. ' Engineering, and he was assisted by Williams Welch, instructor of draw- ing, T. W. Wright, machine shop in- structor, and Professor Litton, of the wood shop. Civil Engineering was taught in the Main Building as a part of the Math School. The capacity of the building was doubled in 1894 by the addition of a brick wing on the side which incorpo- rated among other things a forge and foundry shop. In 1900 an Electrical laboratory was added. One interest- ing feature of the lab is the fact that it had not a single piece of iron or steel used in its construction. Even the nails were made of bronze or brass. At the same time other labs were greatly improved. A fifty foot addi- tion was made in 1920, and in 1922 a second floor was added to the wood shop in rear of Mechanical Hall. Later, in ' 24, another drawing room was added. Disaster struck in 1927 in the form of a fire which broke out beneath a skylight in the attic, perhaps because of the concentration of the sun ' s rays through the unusual glass of the sky- light. The building was completely destroyed, making it necessary to hold the classes in the upper floors of the Main Building. The Literary Halls were changed over to be used as draw- ing rooms. The Engineering Building as we know it now was completed and ready for use in Feb. 1928, and at the same time a separate shop building was finished. Thus the story of the gradual change from a small two-story structure to a modern $400,000 plant is a true pic- ture of Clemson ' s growth as a whole. Fernow ' s Inferno — The catalogue says steam