The organization that today promotes healthy lifestyles for Tennesseans; helps them manage food, environmental and agricultural resources;prepares the state’s youth for a diverse and demanding future; and builds family financial skills began a hundred years ago.
The story begins with farm families struggling to survive as the Tennessee and U.S. economies began the transition from agriculture to industrialization in the early 1900s.It’s a story of committed professionals dedicating their hands to hard work and their hearts to service. Their work contributed greatly to Tennessee’s growth and progress over many generations.
1914 - July 1 - The UT College of Agriculture and the USDA passed legislation to provide financial support for the organization of state divisions of Extension with the passage of the federal Smith-Lever Act.
1915 - The Tennessee General Assembly authorizes the UT College of Agriculture to organize and conduct
Agricultural Extension work.
1917 - April 6, 1917 - When the U.S. entered World War I, new Extension agents were hired to increase food production. State and county councils of defense and county food supply committees were set up. The slogan was “Food to win the war.”
The first Black 4-H Clubs in Tennessee were organized in Fayette County. When the U.S. entered World War I, the number of Black Extension agents in Fayette County increased to five women and seven men.
1922 - Wilson County held a camp for home demonstration women. This was believed to be the first such camp held in the South.
1923 - The Division of Extension becomes the Tennessee Extension Service.
Tennessee Station, Grass garden and Arondo donax, 1900
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
