For South Carolina State University, the First and Second Morrill Acts are the foundations on which the university was established. The university was first created in 1872 in compliance with the 1862 Morrill Land Grant Act, when the South Carolina General Assembly created the South Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical Institute in 1872 in Orangeburg, S.C. This institute existed within the institution of Claflin College, now Claflin University, from 1872 until 1896.
Under the 1890 Morrill Land Grant Act, the South Carolina General Assembly enacted legislation in 1895 for the severance of the South Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical Institute, from Claflin College.
On March 4, 1896, SC State University opened independent of Claflin College as a land-grant institution under the name of the Colored Normal Industrial Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina. The name was changed to South Carolina State College in 1954. The school received university status in 1992 and adopted its present name, South Carolina State University. The university is one of two land-grant universities in South Carolina. Clemson University is the state’s 1862 institution.
The 1890 Research & Extension Program is the cornerstone of the historical land-grant status of South Carolina State University. The Program is integral in helping the university preserve its 1890 land-grant legacy of service to the citizens of South Carolina.
South Carolina State University
300 College Street NE
Orangeburg SC 29117
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Cucumber with downy mildew, 1908
Courtesy of Wikimedia
A Modern Dairy Barn in South Carolina, 1925. From the Extension Bulletin no.62.
