Gym class in Old Main, varsity football on the Quad part of forgotten Aggie history

By Sarah Reale

March 19, 2005 | Every day when we walk to class, we are taking a trip through history. Each building and square foot of ground at Utah State has its own story. Every summer I get the opportunity to take new students on tours of this colorful university, teaching traditions, myths and history of the campus.

Utah State University did not start as an institution known for its technology and experiments in space. It started with a few dairy cows and a model farmhouse, which is now known as the David B. Haight Alumni Center. The place that holds banquets and weddings throughout the year was once a place where students tied up their horses before going to class.

Agriculture was the founding mission of this university, and it had four names in its history that reflected this mission:

1888- Agricultural College of Utah
1916- Utah Agricultural College
1929- Utah State Agricultural College
1957- Utah State University

We are reminded of our true background every year when Ag Week rolls around. Walking to class, you will find yourself dodging tractors and hay barrels. And when we sing The Scotsman at athletic events, the students make gestures of milking a cow.

Land for the old Agricultural College of Utah was bought for only $1, and the college was founded in 1888. Classes began in 1890. This was when a wing of Old Main was referred to as "The Chapel" because of daily attendance for non-denominational religious exercises. All students under the age of 21 were required to attend.

Old Main has had its many phases, starting with woodwork shops, a sewing area, a post office and administrative offices. Old Main also had a gymnasium, which brought about some controversy. The gymnasium was on the third floor, but the men's dressing room was all the way to the south wing. This caused male bare arms and knees to be seen running up three flights of stairs. It did not take long for women to protest the immodesty.

Military activities go hand-in-hand with agriculture here. Utah State was established under the Land-Grant Act of 1862, requiring the university to teach military science. During World War I, the Smart Gymnasium, Old Main Auditorium, Animal Science and Geology buildings became barracks. In the afternoons, cadets drilled on the QUAD, bringing the school its long-forgotten nickname: "West Point of the West."

The QUAD is deep in history. It first was a place for farmland, and later became a football field where the Agricultural College of Utah played its first game, beating the University of Utah in 1892. Smokers milled just around the corner from the QUAD, dubbed "Nicotine Point," as all other parts of the campus were smoke-free.

Married students in the early 1920s attending Utah State lived either in the Geology Building or Animal Science Building. Hungry students ate at "The Commons Center," which had a cafeteria, food vendors and a bookstore. The Commons is now known as the Family Life Building.

The George S. Eccles Business Building, home to the oldest university business school west of the Mississippi, is also the tallest building in Logan, standing nine stories tall.

The Nelson Fieldhouse was once home to the Utah State basketball team, where they played until the Spectrum was built. The football team moved from the QUAD to the HPER field, where the first stadium had been constructed. Today, the old stadium site is the grassy field where most intramural events are held.

Some history still plays out on campus. The "True Aggie Tradition" where students kiss on the "A" to become a "True Aggie" was started in 1916. The Aggie Ice Cream was first mixed by Professor Gustav Wilster in 1922. Paul Bunyon, the 12-foot wooden Natural Resource Man, was put together in 1939. Back in 1954 the Sigma Nu instituted the most prestigious award ceremony at Utah State, The Robins Awards.

There are hundreds of folklore stories at Utah State. The Organ Ghost still plays at graduation each spring and the Weeping Woman still grieves in the cemetery at night. There is a hidden heating tunnel system that was once used by the university. The tunnels are sealed off, but entrances can be found. You never know where you are going to end, and rumor has it, the tunnels could lead all over, including the president's office.

Every day, when you walk to class, remember the history of the university, the traditions, the folklore, its foundations. The history has made Utah State what it is today.

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