New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, 1882 to present day
Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- This collection consists of materials related to the Experiment Station which was established in 1882 by the state and later became part of Cornell University.
- Extent:
- 3 Boxes
- Language:
- English
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection covers the time period from when the station was founded in the 1880s through present day as it has become known as Cornell AgriTech. There are publications, photos, planning documents for expansions, articles, press releases, and other general programs. Information on Parrott Hall (originally Denton Place) is also included in this collection, mainly articles after the ownership passed to the state, in addition to photographs and the original lithograph of Nehemiah Denton’s property. Much more information on the later years of the Station’s work can be found at Cornell University.
- Biographical / historical:
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By act of the Legislature of 1881, an agricultural experiment station was established in the State of New York, the sixth in the US, and on March 1, 1882, work was begun on the site selected in Geneva. In the words of the act, the State was established “for the purpose of promoting agriculture in its various branches by scientific investigation and experiment.” Since then, the chief work of the Station has been to study, in a scientific way, the problems confronting the farmers of the State.
The Station invested in the breeding of new fruits since its founding which are put through trials and then turned over to the NYS Fruit Testing Cooperative Association, Inc., also in Geneva. Research has been done on numerous fruits and vegetables as well as the insects that affect their growth.
Scientists concentrated their research efforts on dairy, horticulture and the evaluation of varieties of vegetables and field crops. In 1887, the program added beef cattle, swine, and evaluation of fruit varieties. Bacteriology, fruit horticulture and chemistry were also added later.
The Station became part of Cornell University in 1923 an expanded into studies on canning crops, nursery plants, and disease. At the end of World War 2, animal research was moved to the Ithaca campus. Present day activities focus on agriculture in New York but has reached international recognition for its work in sustainable agriculture and food systems through innovative research, education, and extension programs.
Parrott Hall housed the original work space for the station, modified to provide offices, laboratories, workrooms, and living quarters for the station’s first director E Lewis Sturtevant and other staff members. In 1900 it became administrative space and entomology in 1930; Denton Place was renamed Parrott Hall in 1950 in honor of PJ Parrott, once head of entomology and after director of the station. In 1968 Parrott Hall lost its last tenant with the completion of Barton Laboratory and has remained empty ever since. It became a New York State Historical Site in 1975 and the Friends of Parrott Hall are presently working to attempt to restore the house which has deteriorated significantly.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: a Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Location of this collection:
- Contact:
- 315-789-5151archivist@historicgeneva.org