Oklahoma Panhandle State University history

In 1910, the State of Oklahoma transferred the experiment station in Fort Supply, Oklahoma, to PAI, and that entity became the farm.

Demonstrations of cattle breeds were also developed; for example, by 1916, judging students practiced their skills on the farm’s Hereford herd.

In 1921, the legislature authorized the school to offer a two year college curriculum, and the name was changed to Panhandle Agricultural and Mechanical College.

In 1924, Oliver Willham, head of animal husbandry, went to Wisconsin to buy four Holstein dairy cows to begin a dairy herd.

In 1925 PAMC offered four-year college degrees.

By the late 1930’s, the PAMC farm and the Panhandle Agriculture Experiment Station had combined.

The first man to recognize this need was Doctor Claude Fly, Head of the Science Department of Panhandle Agricultural and Mechanical College (PAMC) in 1931.

In 1934, the Oklahoma Land Office sold Panhandle Agricultural and Mechanical College (PAMC) 640 acres on Section 36-2-13 in Texas County to extend its farm.

By 1938, rooms on the first and second floors of Hughes-Strong Hall’s north wing housed the 15,000 items of the museum and showcased the Oklahoma Panhandle’s history, geology, anthropology, art, and natural history.

The museum relocated to the second floor of Hughes-Strong Hall in 1939, and because the quarters were much smaller, some, like Oklahoma State Representative Wallace G. Hughes and Julius Cox, worked to secure state funding for a museum building.

On February 25, 1945, a permanent patent deed was issued to PAMC. After World War II, the farm supported purebred Holstein, Friesan, and Hereford herds as well as Duroc hogs, Hampshire sheep, and poultry.

The museum, built east of campus on a plot of land donated by PAMC, was dedicated and celebrated with a BBQ on October 3, 1951; the dedication speech came from the first champion of the museum, Doctor Claude Fly.

Initially, the Panhandle State College (PSC) knew Carter Hall--built in 1967--as the Industrial Arts Building.

In May 1969, the Board of Regents for Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges honored the request to name the two-story structure Carter Hall.

The building’s dedication occurred in April 1970 with Doctor Marvin McKee, a past PSC president and current state representative, serving as master of ceremonies.

In 1974, over $6,000 was appropriated to modernize and purchase instructional equipment for Carter Hall.

New buildings accommodated agricultural instruction and growth in the 1980’s, including the Estes E. Firestone Meats Laboratory and the Milton England Activity Center.

In 1994, Oklahoma State University proposed that the Oklahoma Panhandle Research and Extension Center (OPREC) be centered at the farm to expand experimentation in crops such as sorghum, sunflowers, and wheat.

- Sara Jane Richter, 2009