New Agriculture Building / Mumford Hall

The cornerstone of the New Agriculture Building was laid November 8, 1922. [1] It was the first of 9 buildings designed by Charles A. Platt, who was also responsible for laying out the University's first formal Campus Plan. [2] Built in the Georgian style, the building was 300 feet long and 95 feet deep, [3] featuring 86,600 square feet of space. [4] The $493,000 structure [5] [6] featured reinforced structural concrete and tile and brick partitions, rendering it fireproof. It housed 50 offices and 25 classrooms, along with a reading room and a now-closed agriculture library. [7]

The January 25, 1924 dedication featured addresses by Dean and Professor Emeritus Eugene Davenport on "Making Headway in Scientific Agriculture", as well as its later-namesake, Herbert Mumford, Dean of the College of Agriculture, on "The Influence of Education and Research on Agricultural Progress". [8] Mumford also honored the progress of the Agricultural College and Experiment Station with a speech entitled "Education and Research in Agricultural Progress". [9]

On June 27, 1946 the Board of Trustees approved a resolution from the Executive Committee of the College of Agriculture to rename the building Mumford Hall: [10]

As a memorial to the late Herbert Windsor Mumford, who was Dean of the College of Agriculture, Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, and Director of Extension Service in Agriculture and Home Economics. Dean Mumford succeeded Dean Davenport as Dean and Director and served from 1922 until his death in 1938 he previously served as Professor and Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and was a member of the faculty from 1901 until 1938

On April 17, 1947, the building was renamed Mumford Hall in honor of Herbert Windsor Mumford for his contributions towards agricultural education. Read aloud at the ceremony was his belief that "Education of the masses and the possibility of subjugated groups are incompatible objectives. The former is in harmony with the spirit of democracy, the later is directly opposed to it". [11] By 1950 the building was home to the College of Agriculture, the Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Departments of Horticulture, Animal Science, Agricultural Economics, and Landscape Architecture.