The Agricultural Extension began with the passage of the Smith-Lever Act in 1914, but can trace its roots back to 1906 when extension work in agriculture and home economics began in Virginia. In 1966, the Agricultural Extension Service became the Cooperative Extension Service as part of the overall Extension Division of Virginia Tech. For a complete history, see
This collection consists of files compiled in preparing the history of the Cooperative Extension Service entitled College of the Fields: Highlights of the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, 1914-1980. Included in the collection are: lists of county agents (1914-80); correspondence, articles, speeches and other items from the files of Ella Agnew, first home demonstration agent in the U.S.; information on Seaman Knapp, T.O. Sandy, Maude Wallace, and other pioneers of extension work; information on Negro extension work, 4-H, Black Extension Homemakers Club, Virginia Extension Homemakers Council, and home demonstration work; typed manuscripts of articles and speeches by John R. Hutcheson; photographs of home demonstration work and the people involved; publications consulted for the history; and a rough draft of the history with margin notes and editing.