North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service

Organized home demonstration work among rural women in North Carolina started when I. O. Schaub, director of the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service, appointed Jane S. McKimmon State Home Demonstration Agent in 1911.

A pioneer in home demonstration work, McKimmon headed the program until 1937. Ruth Current succeeded her and directed the program for three decades afterward. In 1958, Current was named assistant director of the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service in charge of home economics programs. Both women achieved national recognition for their work.

Home demonstration was part of the Agricultural Extension Service at North Carolina State College, which was conducted in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. It sought to provide better conditions in farm homes through adult education by demonstration, and North Carolina was one of five Southern states where it originated. It grew from 416 women in 14 counties when it started to over 65,000 women organized in 2,500 clubs throughout all of North Carolina's 100 counties by the mid-1960s. In 1995 it became the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences in the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service.

From the guide to the University Archives Photograph Collection, Home Demonstration Work Photographs, 1910-1976, (Special Collections Research Center)

The North Carolina Agricultural Extension and Research Services Photograph collection includes photographs and negatives relating to areas of animal husbandry, animal science, the agriculture school, 4-H Youth Development clubs, forest resources, crop and soil science, the extension service, and farm forestry. While each program has its own distinctions, all are involved in the research and education of North Carolina individuals, families, and communities.

Programs in animal husbandry was established in the 1920s and later became the Department of Animal Science. Sections within Animal Science that are part of the Cooperative Extension Service include: animal husbandry, dairy extension, swine husbandry, and horse husbandry.

Photographs documenting the Agricultural School include agricultural-related courses such as entomology, agronomy, plant pathology, chemistry, as well as student and faculty activities.

The College of Forest Resources and Farm Forestry photographs display forestry management and maintenance ranging from planting to logging operations within the state. Farm forestry photographs represent extension and individual farms, farm equipment, breeds of farm animals, as well as timber management.

The Extension Service photograph collection highlight conference meetings, fairs, farms and homes, home demonstrations, research stations, and goodwill missions to Europe and Peru.

From the guide to the University Archives Photograph Collection, Agricultural Extension and Research Services Photographs, 1900-1992, (Special Collections Research Center)