Celebrating 100 years of OSU Extension in Coshocton County
COSHOCTON - On May 8, 1914 congress signed an act to
establish the Cooperative Extension Service which would
extend the reach of education into rural communities.
Representative Asbury Lever from South Carolina
and Senator Michael Hoke Smith from Georgia together
submitted a proposal that would “aid in diff using among
the people of the United States useful and practical infor-
mation on subjects relating to agriculture, uses of solar
energy with respect to agriculture, home economics,
and rural energy, and to encourage the application of the
same..." On May 8, 1914 congress signed what we know of
today as the Smith-Lever Act.
As a result, this established the Cooperative Extension
Service, a unique educational partnership between
the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the nation’s
land-grant universities that extends research-based
knowledge through a state-by-state network of extension
educators.
Here in Ohio, the land grant university has been Th e
Ohio State University since 1870. “Land grant” is just
what it sounds like. President Abraham Lincoln signed
the Morrill Act in 1862, which gave 10,000 acres of Federal
government land to each state to sell and use the pro-
ceeds to create a public university to teach agriculture
and the mechanic (engineering) arts. Th is was followed
by another act a few years later to create agricultural
experiment stations to conduct agricultural research.
Over time students received excellent instruction in cam-
pus classrooms and data was generated from the many
studies conducted at research stations. But the public
university’s mission is to serve all the citizens of the state.
A system was needed to
disseminate the information
through non-formal educa-
tion. As a result, extension
was born so that the land
grant system could truly be
the “people’s colleges” as
Lincoln had envisioned.
Following WWI we
received our fi rst extension
agent in Coshocton Coun-
ty. In December 1918 the
county commissioners voted
to appropriate $1,250 to
support the salary of a “farm
agent.” On Feb. 1, 1919 Grover C. Musgrove began as the
fi rst county agent in Coshocton County. He was followed
by 10 agriculture agents. Paul Golden served in this posi-
tion the longest from 1978-2007 and 2010-2012.
Harriet Green started as the home demonstration/
home economics agent in 1936. She worked with adult
homemaker groups as well as youth. Green served 31
years as an agent in our county, retiring in 1966. Any
girl who was a part of the 4-H program at this time has a
memory associated with Green.
Th e fi rst offi cial 4-H agent was Lawrence E. Sarbaugh
who began in 1946. However, 4-H began in Coshocton
County long before that. Th e fi rst corn and calf clubs
started in 1917. When Musgrove came to Coshocton, he
organized the existing clubs into 4-H clubs and estab-
lished many more. At that time boys belonged to a club
to learn about a specifi c livestock animal, often pigs, or
for girls it was a club to mainly learn to preserve food
through canning. Th ere have been 15 4-H agents in
Coshocton County with Sarah Jane Lindsey serving the
longest tenure at 31 years from 1979-2009.
For many years the extension offi ce was located in the
basement of the post offi ce, which is now the Coshocton
Public Library. Th e Extension Offi ce is now in Room 110
at the county services building. Current programs focus
on strengthening families and communities, prepar-
ing youth for success, enhancing agriculture and the
environment, and advancing employment and income
opportunities.
Emily Marrison | Contributed
The early years of Extension 1914-1939 – Agriculture
COSHOCTON - Even before the Cooperative
Extension Service formally began, land-
grant universities were making eff orts to
educate the citizens of their states about
agricultural topics. Ohio Agricultural
Extension traveled by train all around the
state of Ohio with agricultural exhibits to
give on farm demonstrations from 1906-
1913. In 1911 alone there were 16 trains
that made 418 stops and reached more
than 45,000 people with hands-on exam-
ples of farm practices. In 1910, the rural
population was almost 54 percent of the
total US population. Today it is about
15 percent. In 1914 about 35 percent of
Americans lived on a farm. Now that
number is a little over 1 percent.
Th e Smith-Lever Act was signed in
1914 by President Woodrow Wilson.
Th is increased the mission of land-grant
universities to offi cially extend instruc-
tion beyond campuses. Th e president
called it “one of the most signifi cant and
far-reaching measures for the education
of adults ever adopted by the govern-
ment.”
In Coshocton County, nine county
farmers together requested a county
CONGRATULATIONS
ON 100 YEARS!
Coshocton Soil and Water
Conservation District
724 S. 7th Street, Coshocton, OH 43812
740-622-8087, Ext. 4 • www.coshoctonswcd.org
www.facebook.com/CoshoctonSWCD
Protecting our local soil & water resources since 1942
Coshocton County Plat Books - $10
Proud supporter of Coshocton County Agriculture
2-B THE BEACON
agent from the county commissioners on
Oct. 8, 1918. Th ese farmers included E.C.
Darling, Bert Miskimens, G.T. Vensel,
William Nethers, George Stonehocker,
B.O. Stingel, T.K. Finley, George Gray and
R.E. Wells. Th e commissioners voted two
to one to appropriate $1,250 to support
the salary of a “farm agent” for one year.
Grover C. Musgrove began work in Co-
shocton County on Jan. 1, 1919. Musgrove
was a county agent in Moundsville, W.Va.
and that local newspaper said, “Mr. Mus-
grove was the ideal man that the farm-
ers could fi nd to get their organization
started right… Th e Echo congratulates
the people of Coshocton upon gaining a
citizen of the talent and character of Mr.
Musgrove. His sterling qualities have
won him a high place in popular esteem
among our people and will do the same
in Coshocton.”
On the Cover
Th e photos on the cover represent the
three focus areas of OSU Extension:
Agriculture, Family & Consumer Sciences
(formerly Home Economics) and 4-H.
Martin Daugherty is upper left. Upper right
photo - see page 7-B. Lower right photo is
Donald Wells, 1970 Tractor Rodeo winner.
Also pictured Denny Tumblin (?) & unknown.
www.coshoctonbeacontoday.com
Even before the 1929 crash of the stock
market, a depression had begun in rural
America. Following World War I, the agri-
cultural market became a global market,
and US agriculture found itself with
competition. In response, Extension fo-
cused on helping farmers with economic
concerns and effi ciency in farming oper-
ations to improve overall quality of life.
Th is was a time when many cooperatives
were formed to gain purchasing advan-
tages for supplies. In 1933 OSU Extension
helped the nation to overcome the Great
Depression through assistance with New
Deal programs. Th is included price sup-
ports, production control, and bringing
electricity to rural areas.
Emily Marrison | Contributed
PHOTO CREDITS:
Photos reprinted with permission
of Th e Coshocton Tribune.
Photos courtesy of the Coshocton
County OSU Extension Offi ce.
Photos courtesy of various individuals
contributed by the Coshocton
County OSU Extension Offi ce.
APRIL 17, 2019