This building was constructed in 1892 to accommodate the offices of the Agricultural Experiment Station. The station's chemistry lab was in the basement. Since 1973 it has served as the Women's Center.
The shop was located in the 1889 section of the original Mechanical Hall. This, along with other shops, served as the labs for students studying mechanics and mechanical engineering.
John Fulton (Class of 1892), who taught chemistry at Oregon State for several decades, is standing, center-right, wearing a cap. F. L. Washburn taught zoology and entomology classes in the 1890s. Many of the zoological specimens in this photograph later became part of the collections of the Horner Museum.
Miller was a popular Oregon poet, newspaper writer and editor, and lecturer known as the “Poet of the Sierras.” He spoke at OAC in the winter of 1897-1898, and is shown in this photo sitting in the parlor of the Cauthorn Hall quarters of faculty member John Horner and his wife.
Pictured from left to right are B.W. Johnson, J. Fred Yates, Helen Holgate (accompanist), H.L. Holgate, and John Fulton. B.W. Johnson was a local orchardist. H.L. Holgate was a lawyer who worked as the district counsel for the Department of the Interior. Helen Holgate graduated from OAC in 1895 with a BS in domestic science and arts; she later worked in the college's Clerical Exchange. J. Fred Yates served a term as mayor of Corvallis and was also a City Attorney, Municipal Judge and member of the OSC Board of Regents. John Fulton was chair of the Chemistry department from 1907 to 1940.
Standing at far right is Professor George Coote. This image was used in the 1892-93 catalog and also in The Orange and Black, 1938. George Coote (1842-1908), a native of England, emigrated directly to Corvallis in 1877, where he established himself as a farmer. In 1888 Coote accepted a position within Oregon Agricultural College's Department of Horticulture - eventually becoming its chair - which he maintained until months before his death in November 1908. During his tenure, Coote was responsible for the college's grounds and greenhouses, and also published several Extension Service Bulletin articles on fruits, flowers, vegetables and nuts.
In addition to classroom and lab work, OAC students studying entomology in 1890 were required to do fieldwork during their third year. According to the 1890-91 college catalog, “each student will, under the instructor’s direction, learn how to work with insecticides, and will be required to carry on experiments to discover the best means of preventing insect ravages.”