12. History of Agriculture Education

History of Agriculture Education

The first recorded agricultural teaching in Indiana began as a result of the activities of Chief Little Turtle, the greatest war chief of the Miami Indian Nation. Through his efforts, the Secretary of War in 1804 sent a deputation from the Society of Friends in Maryland to a location near Andrews, Indiana for the purpose of instructing Indians in the arts of agriculture. Fifty-eight years passed before the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 took place, which allowed for the creation of Land Grant Colleges such as Purdue. The first organized high school class in agriculture was started at Westfield High School in Hamilton County in 1906 and between the years of 1906 and 1911 the teaching of agriculture developed locally. Agriculture Education, Agricultural Education and Vocational Agriculture are words used throughout history to describe the teaching of agriculture at both the secondary and university levels. Federal and State laws and funding often determined the wording used.

Excerpt From Progress in Agricultural Education
(1909, U.S. Dept. of Ag.)

Agricultural Education by Samuel S. Cromer (December 1917)

Documents Requesting Indiana Participation in History of Agricultural Education Book (1939)

History of Agricultural Education of Less Than College Grade in the United States (Indiana Excerpt 1954)

Chief Little Turtle

Indiana a Pioneer State in Agricultural Education and 4-H
(June 1944)

Report of the Commission on Industrial and Agriculture Education (December 1912)

Indiana Vocational Education Law
(Approved February 22, 1913)

Educational Bulletin No. 27 Vocational Series No. 16
(August 1917)

Bulletin No. 90 Laws and Regulations Governing Vocational Education in Indiana (1927)

Vocational Education Bulletin No. 1 Agriculture Series No. 1 (June 1938)

Vocational Education Bulletin No. 3 Agriculture Series No. 2 (1939)