ArchivesUM
News and Highlights: From the Vault (June 2005)
Charles Benedict Calvert (1808-1864) founded the Maryland Agricultural College in 1856, and was one of the early advocates for the establishment of the United States Department of Agriculture.
On September 29, 1858, Calvert sent a letter to J.C. Nicholson, a Baltimore businessman, detailing plans for the Maryland Agricultural College. Calvert wrote: We expect to teach everything that is taught in the best Universities...we shall require every student to learn Scientific and practical agriculture and mechanics which of course will require him to engage at certain hours in all the outdoor operations of the farm and work shops.
Letter from Charles Benedict Calvert to J. C. Nicholson, September 29, 1858. Maryland Manuscripts Collection, Item 5473.
Additional Resources
- Charter of Maryland, 1632, transcription (Yale Avalon Project)
- Charter of Maryland, 1632 (Maryland State Archives)
- Finding a Founding Father's Wish
- Riversdale Bookshelf Project (University of Maryland)
See previous From the Vault entries.