University of Maryland College Park - Terrapin / Reveille Yearbook (College Park, MD)

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fcred by Mr. Charles B. Calvert, a part of the Riversdale estate in Prince George ' s County, was finally agreed upon. The corner-stone of the col- lege building was laid, with appropriate ceremony on August 24, 1857. While the building was still in process of construction, work was begun upon the farm, looking to its preparation for the experi- mental work required by the charter to be con- ducted upon it. The building was completed in the following year, and the college was formally opened in October, 1859. Much interest was manifested by the people of the State in the enter- prise. Endorsements of the plan of work were publicly made by business and agricultural organi- zations, and valuable contributions to the farm and college equipment were received unsolicited from private individuals. Among the most generous friends of the college should be mentioned Dr. William N. Mercer, of New Orleans, whose gifts of books and money were of inestimable benefit to the college in its youth. The first President was Prof. Benjamin Hal- lowell, a teacher of reputation in the State and in the District of Columbia. He was an able execu- tive officer, and served the greater part of two years, refusing all compensation for his services. The original Faculty of the College consisted ot the President, who was also Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy ; Dr. B. Loomis, Professor of Ancient and Modern Languages ; Dr. George C. Schaeffer, Professor of Agriculture and the Natural Sciences ; and Prof H. Dorsey Gough, Professor of Mathematics and the Exact Sciences. Each Trus- tee was empowered to designate students for ad- mission from his own county. Students were to be required to perform practical farm work. The college thus began its career auspiciously. Three years after its opening, in 1862, the Congress of United States passed the first act pro- viding for the endowment of Agricultural Colleges. The fact is worthy of being emphasized here that Maryland did not wait for Federal aid in the estab- lishment of such an institution, but before the pas- sage of the Act of 1862, by the generosity and public spirit of her private citizens and the wisdom and foresight of her Legislature, had established and put into practical operation a college whose primary object was to develop her agricultural interests by training young men in those depart- ments of science which should fit them for the successful pursuit of agriculture. Thus the Mary- land Agricultural College is not, strictly speaking, a Land-grant College in its origin, but rather a beneficiary of the Land Grant of 1862. 14