Map showing the grounds, buildings, and water systems circa 1900. This is the earliest extant campus map held by Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center.
These OAC women are standing outside the front entrance to the college's first Mechanical Hall. Part of one of the floors of this building was used as a gymnasium.
Harvey L. McAllister, known as "Pap Hayseed," graduated from OAC in 1897 with a degree in agriculture. He served in the Spanish-American war and then worked as a farmer in Lexington, Oregon. Thomas Edward Palmer was a 1900 graduate of OAC in electrical engineering and served as the leader of the cadet band his senior year.
This greenhouse complex was part of an expansion of college agricultural facilities that began in 1889. Standing on the right is George Coote, instructor in horticulture. The Administration Building (Benton Hall) is in the background.
Lower campus looking west at the Mitchell Playhouse, Fairbanks Hall, Administration Building (Benton Hall), a water tower, Apperson Hall (Mechanical Hall), and Chemical Lab (Paleontology Lab). The image was used in the 1938 Orange and Black and 1898-1899 OAC Catalog.
Margaret Comstock Snell, M.D., was appointed the first professor of Household Economy and Hygiene at Corvallis College in 1889. Snell came to begin the college's program in household economy and hygiene -- the first in the western U.S. She trained as a medical doctor at Boston University, graduating in 1886. At OAC she incorporated aspects of her medical training into the curriculum, teaching "people how to stay well, rather than treat them once they are sick." Snell retired in 1907 and died in 1923. Three buildings at OSU have been named for her.
Originally named Cauthorn Hall and was later named Fairbanks Hall. It was constructed in 1892 as a men's dormitory. Women lived in the dormitory from 1912 until the early 1930s, when it was converted into a classroom building. The building is now home to the Art Department.
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.
The original Mechanical Hall was destroyed by fire in September 1898. A new Mechanical Hall was later named Apperson Hall and is now known as Kearney Hall.
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.”
Present day Benton Hall once served as the administration building for Oregon Agricultural College. The original Mechanical Hall, which burned down in 1898, is pictured at right.
Bristow served on the college faculty from 1882 to 1894. He was principal of the preparatory department and also taught classes in bookkeeping and beekeeping.
Emile F. Pernot (1859-1927) was a photographer who, through his pioneering work in microphotography, developed an interest in bacteriology, and was named the first chair of the OAC Bacteriology Department in 1900.
Cauthorn served on the college’s board of regents from 1888 to 1891, and was chair of the board’s executive committee in 1890 and 1891. He also served in the Oregon Senate from 1883 to 1891. As a regent, he spoke before the Oregon legislature in order to secure appropriations for OAC, including $25,000 in funds for construction of the first men’s dormitory. After Cauthorn’s death in 1891, the dormitory was named Cauthorn Hall in his memory. Two subsequent dormitories have carried his name.
Portrait of Emile F. Pernot, ca. 1890. Photo by Pernot Bros., Corvallis. Pernot and his brother, Eugene, started a photography business in Corvallis about 1889. Emile Pernot taught photography and art classes at Oregon Agricultural College in the 1890s and in 1899 was the first faculty member to teach a course in bacteriology.
Studio portrait of OAC Band with Corvallis High School drum (drum has drawing of Battleship Oregon), circa 1899. Harry Beard is in the center,seated, holding a cornet.
The commandant (center) was likely Captain Charles E. Warren (Ret’d.), who served from January to July 1892. The cadet officers are in their gray uniforms. The college catalog for that year described the uniforms as follows:
OAC Cadet "Battalion" in box formation on parade field with rifles, dated May 1895. The caption on the most original of the prints states, "OAC Cadet Battalion - May 1895 Strut Column".Buildings in the background are notable, showing the carriage house and Mechanical Hall with the railroad spur (Corvallis and Eastern RR) still in place.
Baseball team (about 1898), information from negative envelope: Allen '00, Heinkler '98, Sharp '98. In the 1938 Orange and Black, players are identified as: standing (l to r) WL Sharp, Jesse Tharp, Bill Patterson, Harold Belt, and Raymond Henkle. Seated (l to r) Henry Howells, Will Smith, Al Campbell, and Tom Allen. Published in Orange & Black 1938, p. 103.
The building was constructed in 1859 and expanded in 1876. It served as the primary bulding for what is now Oregon State University until 1888, when the new Administration Building (Benton Hall) was completed on the west edge of the original college farm.
Image looks toward downtown Corvallis. Visible in the background are the Benton County Courthouse, the Central School, and to the left of the wooden walkway, old Corvallis College.
Baseball diamond, first athletic field, 1892-1893 (on the right) and lower campus view near what is now Jefferson Street. The Experiment Station gardens are on the left with the Court House, Central School, old Corvallis College are also left of the walkway.
A group of women students gathered outside Benton Hall. Of the 336 students enrolled at OAC during the 1897/98 academic year, almost half (151) were women. Women have been students at OSU since its establishment in 1868.
First row (bottom) L to R:?, William H. Bloss or Ed. Bryson, Pres. John M. Bloss, and ? Gellatly?. Middle row: ?, ?, ? Delia Gellatly?, ?. Top row: ?, ?, Ed Wilson, Dorothea Nash or Delia Gellatly, ?.
Oregon Agricultural College cadets lined up for morning inspection. Now known as Fairbanks Hall, this building was constructed in 1892 as a men's dormitory and was originally named Cauthorn Hall. Women lived in the dormitory from 1912 until the early 1930s, when it was converted into a classroom building. The building is now home to the Art Department.
The O.A.C. football team were the Intercollegiate Champions of the State. The team won 4 games and scored 148 points with only 8 points scored against them. The team was coached by William H. Bloss (son of President). Pictured: Front Row: Buxton, Holmes, Scott, Pendleton, Scroggins, Kruse, Gault, Holgate. Middle row: McBride, Galligher, Noel, Stimpson, Cree. Back row: Manager Edwards, Walters, Elgin, McAllister, Bodine (Captain), Thurston and Coach Bloss.
This was the Women's Basketball championship team from 1898, the first basketball team at Oregon State. Team includes Fanny Getty, 2nd back; Dora Hodgins, 2nd forward; Leona Smith, 1st back; Inez Fuller, 1st forward; Blanche Holden, goal thrower; Lillian Ranney, center; Bessie Smith, captain and guard; W.H. Beach, coach; and F. W. Smith, manager.
Photo of John M. Bloss in the college greenhouse. John McKnight Bloss was the third president of Oregon Agricultural College from 1892-1896. Bloss was also the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and Professor of Mental and Moral Science. During his years of presidency, the school colors were changed from navy blue to orange and black and intercollegiate athletics were formed. Bloss was also the first president to encourage women to study agriculture. The first school annual, The Hayseed, was created.
Photography class, 1892. Standing (l to r): John Fulton, E.G. Emmett, Homer Lily, unidentified woman, unidentified woman. Seated (l to r): unidentified man, 2 unidentified women, W. Frank Holman, unidentified woman.
Two women and two men on a porch; one of the men is Will Bloss, circa 1893. William Bloss was the son of John M. Bloss, the third President of Oregon Agricultural College. William was OAC's first football coach and quarterback.
Cadet officers posing for portrait below steps of Administration Building (Benton Hall). Uniforms show large chevrons on sleeves and forage caps. The image can be dated before 1899 renovation of Benton Hall (brick facade still visible).
Left-Right: Bessie G. Smith, Letita Ownsbey, Elizabeth Hoover, Coach Will Beach, Minnie Smith, Inez Fuller (by banner in-front). Published in the June 1900 Souvenir Edition of the Barometer.
The house was also known as the Nash House, Clark House, and Hogg House. It was later moved to 11th and Jefferson Street in 1907. Waldo Hall was built on the original house site.
Amy Vaughn, Ed Emmett, J. F. Fulton, Mildred Leuville, Bertie Leuville are identified standing in front of train in the woodlands on an excursion to the Pacific Coast.
The new College President, John M. Bloss, arrived in Corvallis on June 3rd and conferred degrees to the Class of 1892 at the Commencement program on June 29th. Bloss is the tallest man in the back row. John D. Letcher, Acting President in 1892 until Bloss' arrival, is standing to Bloss' left and in front of him.
The back brick portion of the building was the original wing of Mechanical Hall, constructed in 1889. The front wood frame section was an addition from 1893-94. The addition housed the college's first gymnasium.
Harvey L. McAlister was known as "Pap Hayseed" during his student years at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC). McAlister came from Lexington, Oregon (in Morrow County) to OAC in 1893. As a freshman, he played center on the first OAC football team. McAlister attended OAC from 1893 to 1897 and earned a BS in Agriculture. After service in the Spanish-American War, he returned to Lexington where he farmed until his retirement in 1947, when he moved to the Veterans Home in Napa, California. McAlister died in California in 1955.
Members of the OAC quartet: 1st tenor John Fulton; 2nd tenor Professor Berchtold; Pianist Ora Spangler; 2nd bass Harley. R. Clark; 1st bass Will H. Bloss.
Composite cyanotype photograph of Oregon Agricultural College buildings. Buildings shown starting at the top left are: Mechanical Hall, Fairbanks Hall and The Greenhouses. View of campus with Benton Hall in background. Women's Center Building (Station Building), Alpha Hall, The Farm and Benton Hall in the center of photo
Cadets in review in front of Benton Hall. Uniforms date prior to 1900. Longer rifled muskets of 1880s vintage. Uniforms include the older "forage cap" still in use dating to Civil War.
Senior Professor John Davidson Letcher was chosen as acting president unanimously by the Board of Regents after Benjamin Arnold's sudden death in January 1892. According to their report, he was "better acquainted with the duties of the president and the working of the college than any other man living." Letcher held the position, in addition to his teaching duties, for four months until the arrival of John M. Bloss in early June.