MSU Campus Plaques, Markers and Memorials

• MSU Historical Marker sign -  Justin Morrill Hall of Agriculture (exterior front of building)
• Side 1 “Justin S. Morrill Hall of Agriculture        When completed in 1909, Agriculture Hall was the grandest structure at what that year officially became known as Michigan Agricultural College.  Invoking antiquity with its massive concrete Tuscan columns and neoclassical style, it nevertheless became a symbol of the modern land-grant college and contemporary approaches to agricultural research.

Built on the site of the college’s original cattle barn, the 190-by-86-foot building also included a two-story livestock-judging pavilion, which occasionally served as an auditorium.  Together with the circa 1900 Women’s Building to the northwest, it bracketed “laboratory row,” including the first Agriculture Hal – now Albert J. Cook Hall.

With the razing of campus’s first Justin Morrill Hall – originally the Women’s Building – in 2013 due to structural deterioration, this building was renamed the Justin. S. Morrill Hall of Agriculture.

Roots of the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources as well as its extension service and research stations, date back to the university’s founding in 1855, spurred primarily by Michigan Farming interests.  The agricultural college that occupies this building also was shaped by the development of America’s land-grant college system in the years following the passage of the Morrill Act in 1862. (Continued on other side)”

• There is also an photograph on this side of the sign of female students standing next to dairy cows with halters in front of a barn circa 1900.  The caption is “Michigan Agricultural College students pose with dairy cows.”
• Side 2  “(Continued from the other side)  The 1887 Hatch Act funded land-grant college agricultural experiment stations.  A second Morrill Act in 1890 added direct appropriations to support the colleges and, for states refusing to integrate campuses, funded separate African American colleges.  The 1914 Smith-Lever Act appropriated federal funding for cooperative extension services of the sort that the college already had begun to offer throughout Michigan.

Agriculture Hall’s construction coincided with reorganization of programs in agriculture, horticulture, veterinary science, and forestry as a division (now, college).  Agriculture program head, Robert S. Shaw, became division dean and noted that the work of most departments included elements of education, experimentation, and extension – the three pillars on which MSU’s agricultural college continues to stand.  From 1928 to1941, Shaw served as president of Michigan State College of Agricultural and Applied Science.”

• There are also two photos on this side of the sign. One photo shows a group of people outside in front of an extension display circa 1930s.  The text of the sign on the display is "Farm Made Labor Savers Demonstrated by Michigan State College Extension Service Emergency Farm Labor Section & Co. Agr’l Agent Cooperating”  The caption is “Extension service members demonstrate new farm mechanics at a county fair.”

The second photograph shows male and female students in a classroom listening to a teacher at a podium.  The caption of the image is “Students attend a horticulture lecture, circa 1892.”

Class of 1949 plaque for class gift of funds to furnish Agriculture Hall Atrium at their 50th reunion in 1999. (atrium)

• The text of the plaque is "Class of 1949     The Class of 1949 came to the School of Agriculture at the dawn of America’s world leadership.  Many graduates started their degrees before World War II and finished after serving in the United States military.  During their years at Michigan State College, the student body grew to more than 16,000, doubling in four short years.  The change continued as the Class of 1949 entered the workforce and became leaders in agriculture and natural resources.  The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources will forever remember the class of 1949.

  The Class of 1949 returned to campus in June 1999 to celebrate its 50th reunion.  In appreciation for the education and opportunities they received while attending Michigan State, the Class of 1949 raised the funds to furnish the Atrium in Agriculture Hall.  This class gift will serve as a lasting reminder of the strong relationship between the graduates of 1949 and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.  Together they have attained excellence and distinction that we can all witness with pride.  The College would like to recognize the following graduates from the Class of 1949 and their spouses who made contributions in support of the 1949 Class Gift.

  Robert B. Abbott

  Lowell and Doris Allen

  Richard and Elaine Baynton

  Gail and Lois Beck (Heasley)

  Leonard and June Bierlein

  Richard and Gloria Bignall (Briggs)

  Robert A. Bohannon

  Norm and Bonnie Braun

  Robert R. Bushman

  Howard and Lili Camden

  Edward R. Cole

  Perry and Peggy Cooper

  Eugene and Emergene Dice

  Richard and Shirley Feight

  Preston M. Givens

  Robert E. Greenlaw

  William and Margaret Gunn

  Leslie L. Hake

  Ted and Bobbie Haskell

  Morris R. Henderson

  Laura and Wallace Heuser (Riegel)

  Henry and Margaret Hose

  Charles and Shirley Hughlett

  Lawrence and Marilyn Johns

  George and Barbara Johnson

  Richard and Charlotte Kirch

  Cernyw and Jean Kline (Bradford)

  Robert and Helene Maldegen

  Russ and Ruth Mawby

  William and Norma McGuffey

  George R. McQueen

  Rolf and Phyllis Moeckel

  Donald R. Moore

  Clare and Florence Musgrove

  William and Marylyn Neuder

  Alf and Joanne Olnes

  Rolland and Mary Patenge

  Thomas A. Persing

  Roger M. Rusmussen

  Robert B. Ruhstorfer

  Donald J. Schaner

  Robert and Jean Schantz

  Robert and Myra Short

  Russell and Johann Spalding

  Howard (Bud) and Phyllis Stein

  Forest and Betty Strand

  A.J. and Marie C. Thelen"

• "ANR Past Present and Future" mural and description plaque (atrium)

  • “The triptych mural “ANR Past, Present and Future” consists of panels capturing the impact, spirit, and will of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources to advance knowledge toward transforming lives of individuals and communities in Michigan and around the world.

    Painted in 2000 by then-University-Artist, Robert Brent, the first panel depicts the work of MSU’s early scientists including William Beal and his student Liberty Hyde Bailey.  Beal was a professor of botany (1871-1910) and curator of the museum (1882-1903).  He was a pioneer in the development of hybrid corn, turfgrass, and founded the W.J. Beal Botanical Garden in 1877, making it the oldest continuously operated botanical garden in the United States.  His student Liberty Hyde Bailey is credited as being instrumental in starting agricultural extension services, 4-H and rural electrification.  The second panel shows the blending of people and places inside the laboratories and classrooms on the campus as well as in the communities and the “fields” of agriculture and natural resources.  The third panel focuses on the future through teaching/learning, research/scholarship, and outreach/extension emphasizing the continued work to meet the needs of our future generations.

    The mural was a gift from the families of former faculty in the then-Department of Soil Sciences: Lynn S. Robertson, Jr. and George Bouyoucos.”

"Michigan Sea Grant Program is Designated a Sea Grant College" plaque (atrium)

The text of the plaque is "In Accordance With The National Sea Grant Improvement Act of 1976 Michigan Sea Grant Program Is Designated A Sea Grant College For Sustained Excellence In Research, Education, And Public Service Dedicated To Wise Use of America’s Marine Resources. September, 1982 Malcolm Baldrige Secretary of Commerce, John V. Byrne Administrator National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration"