South Dakota State College - Jack Rabbit Yearbook (Brookings, SD)

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slsnsesesrstzstasrirasbfksbfzlfb l South Bathurst Stair Glnllegr , if if in it is dk if if if if il? if if ii , FLORENCE BROVVN A NOTE-The material used in this ac- count until the year 1905, is chieHy taken from the writings of Professor R. F. Kerr, an early member of the college faculty. The Agricultural College for the territory of Dakota was established by a law passed in 1881. The citizens of Brookings donated land for a college site, and the State Legislature appropri- ated money for buildings. The law pro- vided for a board of regents among whose duties were the appointment of teachers and the adoption of a course of study. 1 The members of the first board of regents were John A. Owens of De- Smet, H. O. Ringsrud of Elk Point, A. J. Harwood of Fargo, George Nlore- house of Brookings, and W. Shannon of Wessixigtoti. The first appropriation of 325,000 was to be used for the Central Building. All the money was spent on the walls and no work was completed on the in- side. Professor George Lilley, the hrst president, advanced enough money to finish the three west rooms on the main floor so that the Preparatory Depart- THE FIRST FACULTY

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in 1874. Immediately there was a rush of settlers. The Deadwood and Wliite- wood mines were opened. After a time, the Homestake mine was opened at Lead. It is one of the largest gold mines in the world. Gold has always been the leading mineral product of South Dakota. The land of most of South Dakota is well adapted to agriculture and stock raising. The extremes of temperature are not felt as they are in many other regions because of the condition of the atmosphere. Sunshine is most abundant. The state has fewer cloudy days than any other Northern State. It is there- fore called the Sunshine State. South Dakota has a pleasing variety of landscape. In the eastern part are the broad, rolling prairiesg in the cen- tral part are the flat plains, in the west- ern part are the Bad Lands, containing many interesting formationsg while the Black Hills occupy the extreme Western part. Harney's Peak in the Black Hills is the highest point between the Rocky Nlountains and the Alps. Wind Cave, Sylvan Lake, and Spear- fish Canyon are well known to anyone who has ever heard of the Black Hills. The Needles have been constantly re- garded as some of the best works of Nature. The river valleys, the lakes, and the little streams of the prairies are much loved by the people of the State. Big Stone Lake, Kampeska, Lake Andes, and Lake Poinsett are some of the largest lakes. There is near Watertosvn a small salt lake, called by the Indians Bitter Medicine Lake. The lliissouri River, with its con- stantly changing river bed, is often con- sidered the main source of the lower Biississippi. There are countless other things that make South Dakota the best state in the Union. The Indian word Dakota means leagued or allied All the people of the Sunshine State are leagued together into one large brother- hood wherein all men are equal. This brotherhood of friends will continue as long as the loyal citizens of the state uphold their motto, Under God the People Rule.

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ment could be organized. The other rooms when ready were used for dormi- tory purposes. When school opened, September 24. 1884, the total number of students enrolled was fifty, twenty- five men and twenty-five women. By the end of the fall term the enrollment had reached sixty-one, all that could be accommodated. On the opening day of the year 1885-6, the faculty and students were called together by an old-fashioned school bell rung by Professor Kerr. To get to the assembly room, all had to creep under the staging used by the plasterers. A dining room was started in what is now the Central Building to accom- modate the sixty students living there Qboys on the third floor, girls on the second floorl. Since only twenty-four could he seated in the room at one time, the relay method was used, those who ate first being dismissed from class at eleven-thirty. At first. the number of departments was naturally small. The President taught Rflathematics and Engineering, C. A. Kelsey was Professor of Natural Sciences, and W. H. Phillips, Professor of English Literature and Science of Language, these men constituted the en- tire faculty during the first year. The next year Robert F. Kerr, I. H. Orcutt, Luther Foster, and S. P. Sap- ham, were added to the faculty, giving instruction in biilitary Science, Political Economy, Agricultural and Horticul- tural subjects, and lVIusic. ln 1885, the Central Building was completed. The ladies' dormitory, now occupied by the Extension Staff, was completed the same year. Previous to 1898 the school year had been divided into quarters of ten weeks with vacations each of five weeks, one in June and July, the other in Decem- ber and January. At this time, the col- lege year was divided into three terms as at the present time. The first college paper, College Sheaves, was published about 1885. According to Professor Kerr, this was a very respectable paper with a variety of news and selections. Among the early students of the Col- lege were the following members of the present college staff: H. H. Hoy, H. C. Solberg, A. S. Harding, and H. B. lVIathews. In 1892, a dispute arose between the Board of Regents, who were in charge of all institutions, and the Board of Trustees for this institution. The Trustees resigned in a body and the Regents took charge. They dismissed eight members of the faculty, filling the places with persons of their own choice. The students, dissatisfied with the changes in faculty, issued a manifesto. The ringleaders were suspended, where- upon the students demanded their rein- statement. This demand was refused and over one hundred students left the college. This affair set the institution back several years in its growth. On the admission of North and South Dakota into the Union, the Dakota Ag- ricultural College became the South Da- kota Agricultural College, and a similar college was established at Fargo, North Dakota. The College was known as the South Dakota Agricultural Col- lege until as late as 1907, when the name was changed by the legislature to the South Dakota State Collegefl By the act under which South Dakota became a state, 160,000 acres of land