Special Collections Department
403 Parks Library
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-2140

RS 16/6/0/1
Iowa State University

University Extension
Area and County Extension

Annual Reports, 1912-1982


Descriptive summary

creator: Iowa State University. University Extension. Area and County Extension
title: Annual Reports
dates: 1912-1982
extent: 4.49 linear feet (2 records center carton, 4 document boxes, 1 half-document box)
collection number: RS 16/6/0/1
repository: Special Collections and University Archives Department, Iowa State University.
language: English

 

Administrative information

access: Open for research
publication rights: Consult Head, Special Collections and University Archives Department
preferred citation: Area and County Extension Annual Reports, RS 16/6/0/1, Special Collections and University Archives Department, Iowa State University Library.

 

Access points

People, Families, and Corporate Bodies:

Iowa State University. Extension and Outreach

Places:  
Subjects:

Agricultural extension work -- Iowa

Home economics extension work -- Iowa
Genres:

Annual reports

 

Abstract

Iowa State University Extension was founded in 1906 as the Department of Extension at Iowa State College (University). Area Extension included the administration by University Extension of county Extension offices, supervisory districts, and area offices that oversaw the work of specialists across counties. County Extension work in Iowa grew out of the county demonstration farms created during the early years of Extension. Clinton County was the first county in Iowa to hire a full-time county agent in 1912, and by the end of World War I there were Extension agents in every county. County Extension work was initially divided into six supervisory districts throughout Iowa. In 1961, Extension began a pilot project known as TENCO (refers to ten southern Iowa counties) that took a regional approach to rural development. Following the model of TENCO, twelve area offices were created between 1965 and 1969, in order to better utilize specialists in responding to the needs of the public across counties. This collection contains annual reports for county, supervisory district, and area Extension offices throughout Iowa.

 

Historical note

In 1906, the Iowa General Assembly appropriated funds to establish a Department of Extension at Iowa State College (University). Extension work in Iowa began earlier through the pioneering efforts of several people, including Mary B. Welch, James Wilson, and Perry Holden. Holden was appointed the first superintendent of Extension at Iowa State from 1906 to 1912. He focused on three branches of Extension work: demonstration farms, short courses, and education trains. In 1914, the U.S. Congress passed the Smith-Lever Act, creating a nationwide system of cooperative extension services that provide outreach activities through land-grant universities. The Act brought together funding at the national, state, and county levels to support the work of these cooperative extension services, and the program was administered through the United States Department of Agriculture. In 1966, University Extension was established by merging the short courses service group, farm demonstrations service group, engineering extension service group, and Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS, established in 1962). In 2006, University Extension became Extension and Outreach.

Area Extension included the administration of county Extension offices, supervisory districts, and area offices organizing Extension work throughout the state of Iowa.

County Extension work in Iowa grew out of the county demonstration farms created during the early years of Extension. There became a need to have full-time Extension workers living in the counties they served, instead of dividing their time between the Iowa State College campus and the county.  Clinton County, under the auspices of the Clinton Commercial Club, was the first county in Iowa to hire a full-time county agent, Martin L. Mosher, in 1912. Scott County quickly followed suit, hiring G.R. Bliss as full-time county agent later that same year. Other counties also hired Extension agents over the next several years so that, by 1917 when the United States entered World War I, there were a total of 24 county agents. World War I greatly increased the need for higher agricultural output around the country, so the federal government funded the hiring of agents in every county; Pottawattamie County hired two.

County Extension work was initially divided into six supervisory districts throughout Iowa. In 1961, a pilot project known as TENCO led the country in taking a regional approach to rural development. Extension workers collaborated with business and community leaders in ten southern Iowa counties around the hub city of Ottumwa to work together to solve economic problems affecting the area. In 1965, this area approach to Extension organization was expanded. With the growth in agricultural technologies, county Extension directors began to find that they did not have the resources to field the growing volume of questions. Beginning in Ottumwa, twelve area offices were created, with the final one opening in Des Moines in 1969. This area approach to organization allowed directors to better utilize the knowledge of specialists, engaging them more directly with the public. As of 2014, County Extension is organized into twenty regional offices.

Sources

Bliss, Ralph K. History of Cooperative Agriculture and Home Economics Extension in Iowa--The First Fifty Years. Ames, IA: Iowa State University of Science and Technology, 1960.

Schwieder, Dorothy. 75 Years of Service: Cooperative Extension in Iowa. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1993.

 

Collection description

This collection (1912-1982) contains annual reports for county, supervisory district, and area Extension offices throughout Iowa.

 

Related materials

Related collections in the Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library include:

Additional Extension records can be found under records series (RS) 16

 

Organization

The files are arranged alphabetically.

 

Container list

Box

Folder

Title

Dates

1

1

Agriculture and Natural Resources program (Cedar Rapids to Creston Areas): Annual Reports

1981

1

2

Agriculture and Natural Resources program (Dubuque to Sioux City Areas): Annual Reports

1981

1

3

Agriculture and Natural Resources program (Spencer and Waterloo Areas): Annual Reports

1981

1

4

Agriculture and Natural Resources program (Cedar Rapids to Davenport Areas): Annual Reports

1982

1

5

Agriculture and Natural Resources program (Des Moines to Ottumwa Areas): Annual Reports

1982

1

6

Agriculture and Natural Resources program (Sioux City to Waterloo Areas): Annual Reports

1982

1

7

Area Agronomist for East-Central Iowa District: Annual Report

1952

1

8

Area Extension: Annual Report

1981

2

1-4

Area Extension - Cedar Rapids: Annual Report

1976-1980

2

5-8

Area Extension - Council Bluffs: Annual Report

1976-1980

2

9-11

Area Extension - Creston: Annual Report

1977-1980

2

12-15

Area Extension - Davenport: Annual Report

1976-1980

2

16-19

Area Extension - Des Moines: Annual Report

1976-1980

2

20-23

Area Extension - Dubuque: Annual Report

1976-1980

2

24-27

Area Extension - Fort Dodge: Annual Report

1976-1980

2

28-31

Area Extension - Mason City: Annual Report

1976-1980

2

32

Area Extension - Midcrest: Annual Report

1973-1974

2

33

Area Extension - Midcrest: Annual Report

1976-1977

2

34-37

Area Extension - Ottumwa: Annual Report

1976-1980

2

38-41

Area Extension - Sioux City: Annual Report

1976-1980

2

42-45

Area Extension - Spencer: Annual Report

1976-1980

2

46-49

Area Extension - Waterloo: Annual Report

1976-1980

2

50-51

Area Staff: Annual Report Narratives

1966-1967

3

1

Community Resource Development and Public Affairs (Cedar Rapids to Waterloo Areas): Annual Reports

1981

7

1

County Agent: Annual Report

1912-1913

3

2-3

County Agent Supervision: Annual Report

1928

3

4-7

County Agent Supervision: Annual Report

1937-1939

3

8

County Agent Supervision: Annual Report Part I

1941

3

9-12

County Extension: Annual Statistical Report

1965-1968

3

13-14

County Extension Agents: USDA Statistical Summaries of Annual Reports

1934-1954

3

15-17

County Extension - Butler County: Annual Report

1973-1974

3

18

County Extension - Clinton Commercial Club: Annual Reports

1913-1915

3

19

County Extension Director Supervision: Annual Report

1944

3

20

County Home Projects: Annual Report

1932-1933

3

21

County Home Projects: Annual Reports

1940-1941

4

1

District Extension Director in Soil Conservation, East-Central Iowa District: Annual Report

1949

7

5

District Extension Director in Soil Conservation to the East-Central Iowa Advisory Committee: Annual Report

1949-1950

4

2

District Extension Director in Soil Conservation, Four-County Area (Buchanan, Clayton, Delaware, Fayette): Annual Report

1948-1949

4

3

District Extension Director in Soil Conservation, Southeast Iowa District, Four County Area, East-Central Iowa District: Annual Reports

1949-1950

4

4-7

District Extension Supervisors: Annual Report

1949-1953

5

1-5

District Extension Supervisors: Annual Report

1953-1956

5

6

District Extension Supervisors: Annual Report (1 of 2)

1956-1957

6

1

District Extension Supervisors: Annual Report (2 of 2)

1956-1957

6

2-5

District Extension Supervisors: Annual Report (15 b/w photographs)

1957-1959

6

6

District Extension Supervisors: Annual Report (1 of 2)

1959-1960

7

2

District Extension Supervisors: Annual Report (2 of 2)

1959-1960

7

3

Dubuque Area Home Economics Specialists: Annual Report

1972

7

4

Southeast Iowa Home Economics Specialists: Annual Report

1972