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Description and Holding Information
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Commissioners to Establish an agricultural and mechanical college. Report, 1865
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Forty-fourth Legislature. House. No. 8. On December 19, 1864, the thirteen Board of Commissioners appointed to plan for the establishment of a
College for Agricultural and Mechanic Arts sent their report to the Governor, who passed it on to the Legislature. The federal Morrill Act said Maine was
entitled to 210,000 acres, if the state wanted to accept it and its conditions. The state did decide to accept and scrip for the land was sent to
the Governor. The Legislature adjourned without providing authority to begin selling the land. The Commissioners examined the actions of other states
and found only Michigan to have gone very far in the process. The Commission was supposed to solicit gifts of land for the new school and were
presented three options. Two of the sites were beautiful in themselves, but they lacked any appropriate school buildings and the grant could not be spent
on buildings. A third potential location was Bowdoin College, which had buildings and an endowment directed at scientific agriculture. The President
of Waterville College sent a draft of an act that put a professor of chemistry at Bowdoin, a professor of civil engineering at Waterville, and a
professor of agriculture and veterinary science at Bates College. Students would graduate in two years, tuition-free. The Commissioners were not
impressed, because the draft did not address the practical arts aspect, as required in the Morrill Act and they did not think the financing would work. For
their own recommendations, the Commissioners pointed out that the sale of 210,000 acres at 85c/acre would only yield $178,5000, which at 5% interest,
would only provide $8,925/year--totally inadequate for the purpose. The state would have to assume heavy expenses to build the buildings, furnish
them, assemble a faculty, etc. and it would never be self-supporting. So, even though they had found fault before, the Commissioners thought Prof.
Wood's proposal should be re-considered and modified. The land and buildings were in place at the colleges, but the financing had to be different than
suggested. There followed a long list of potential courses. Throughout the report, the Commissioners referred in a rather patronizing manner, to the
"industrial classes." (Digitized from a microfilm copy of title originally held by the Maine Historical Society Library, the Maine State Library, and
the Library of Congress).
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Title:
I have the honor to lay before you for your consideration, the report of the board of commissioners appointed by him, under the provisions of a resolve approved March 25, A. D. 1864, entitled "Resolve relating to the establishment of a college for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts."
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OCLC Number:
1427526153
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Available Volumes
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| Name | Fiche Count | Online | Paper Backup |
| Vol. 1 | | Yes | No |
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