. 59 .
· 74
.   THE STATE COLLEGE OF KENTUCKY.
· 74 ?*"
· 75 HISTORY.
` 75 GRICULTURAL and Mechanical Colleges in the United States
' 76 A Owe their origin to an act of Congress, entitled ~An act Donating
` 82 public Lands to the several States and Territories which may provide
· 83 Colleges for the benefit of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts," approved
' 83 July 2, 1862. The amount of land donated was 3,o,ooo acres for each
· 96 representative in the National Congress. Under this allotment Kentucky
· 96 received 330,000 acres. Several years elapsed before the Common-
· 96 wealth established an Agricultural and Mechanical College under the
` 97 act, When established it was not placed upon an independent basis,
· 98 but was made one of the Colleges of Kentucky University, to which
` 99 institution the annual interest of the proceeds of the Congressional land
` 99 - grant was to be given for the purpose of carrying on its operations,
. gg The land-scrip had meanwhile been sold for fifty cents per acre, and
. gg the amount received—-$165,ooo—invested in six per cent Kentucky
cg; State bonds, of which the State became custodian in trust for the
i ' Col1e¤e.
.102 The connection with Kentucky University continued till 1878, when
.102 the act of 1865, making it one of the Colleges of said University, was
.103 repealed, and a Commission was appointed to recommend to the Legis-
.104 lature of 1879-80 a plan of organization for an institution, including
an Agricultural and Mechanical College, such as the necessities of the
Commonwealth required. The city of Lexington offered to the Com- I
mission (which was also authorized to recommend to the General
Assembly the place which, all things considered, offered the best and
greatest inducements for the future and permanent location of the
College), the City Park, containing fifty-two acres of land, within the
limits of this city, and thirty thousand dollars in city bonds for the
erection of buildings. This offer the county of Fayette supplemented
by twenty thousand dollars in county bonds, to be used either for the
erection of buildings or for the purchase of land. The offers of the city
of Lexington and of the county of Fayette were accepted by the General.
Assembly. ~
By the act of incorporation, and the amendments thereto, consti-
tuting the charter of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky,
liberal provision is made for educating, free of tuition, the energetic
_ young men of the Commonwealth whose means are limited. The
Normal Department, for which provision is also made, is intended to aid
in building up the Common School system by furnishing properly qual-
ifiled teachers. This College, with the additional departments which
1 will, from time to time, be opened as the means placed at the disposal
ofthe Trustees allow, will, it is hoped, in the not distant future, do a.