Campus Farm and Pastures

North of the Main Building in the early days of Henderson there were barns and a pasture to care for the herd of 20 thoroughbred Jersey cows. In addition, there were gardens supplying vegetables in season for the dining hall or for the “canning factory” in the summer when school was not in session. During the summer, workers often canned over 3,000 jars of fruits and vegetables. The dairy herd and the gardens thus supplied a good part of the food necessary to feed the students each day from September to June.

Produce from the gardens not only graced the menu but also provided a source of revenue. In 1910, “the humble but popular dish of turnip greens, which has not only supplied the college tables this fall to the extent of 300 bushels,” has also "returned over $50 to the treasury from sales of the product" grown on a half-acre patch.

During World War I, students harvested butterbeans to help feed the S.A.T.C boys stationed on campus.

In 1933, the College constructed a new field for girls' athletics on "the old farm north of College Hall and the east-west campus drive". This would place it in the vicinity of what is now the quad and the Garrison Center.