BY PRESIDENT EDWARD ORTOX. 



HON. A. T. WIKOFF, Secretary of State : 



DEAR SIR: I am glad to avail myself of the opportunity which you 

 offer of furnishing for publication in your forthcoming annual report a 

 short sketch of ono of the last established and least known of the public 

 institutions of the State, namely, the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical 

 College. I will speak briefly of its origin and endowment, of its plan and 

 scope, and of its equipment and present condition. 



1. The Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College is founded on the 

 Congressional land grant of July, 1862. By that act a large amount of 

 the public land was turned over to the several States, the proceeds of the 

 sales to be devoted to the. better education of the industrial classes. 

 The share of each State was proportioned to its representation in the 

 National Legislature, and thus six hundred and thirty thousand acres 

 came into the possession of Ohio. This munificent gift was unfortu- 

 nately pressed for sale upon a temporarily overstocked market, and 

 the State realized only fifty-four cents to the acre. The total amount of 

 the sales ($342,450) was, however, put at interest, and when the College 

 was opened in September, 1873, the principal and interest together con- 

 stituted a productive fund of something over $500,000, the annual in- 

 come from which slightly exceeds $30,000. 



The Legislature having passed ah act to anthorize the several counties 

 of the State to raise money to secure the location of the College, an offer 

 of $300,000 from Franklin county was accepted by the Board of Trustees, 

 and the College was permanently located at Columbus. The money 

 furnished by Franklin county has been mainly expended in the three fol- 

 lowing items : 1. The purchase of a valuable farm of 320 acrts within 

 the corporate limits of the city of Columbus. 2. The erection of a spacious 

 aud elegant college building and two boarding-houses and dormitories 

 lor students. .'. The equipment of the various departments of instruction 

 in the college. 



The value of the College farm has been greatly enhanced since its pur- 

 chase by the rapid growth of the city in its direction. As land is r 

 and sold on all sides of it, it is now worth at the lowest calculation 

 double the amount paid for it ($11^ 



