The Olmsteds and the Land-Grant Universities

Abstract

This article reviews the robust involvement of the Olmsteds and their colleagues in the establishment of U.S. land-grant universities, and it also traces their broader influence on campus design. The Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862 advanced a new concept for higher education in the United States. The resulting land-grant institutions focused on agricultural science and the mechanic arts (what we would today call engineering). These public institutions were generally more inclusive than the existing private, elite schools, especially after the second Morrill Act was enacted in 1890, bolstering higher education for African Americans in the South. With resources generated from lands taken from Indigenous people, these institutions made significant investments in their buildings and grounds. Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. was connected to the movement to improve agricultural education and research. Soon after the first Morrill Act was signed into law, Olmsted became involved in the planning and design of these new institutions. His work was furthered by his sons—John and Frederick Jr.—through their firm the Olmsted Brothers. The work of the Olmsteds had a direct impact on many land-grant university campuses, including one 1890 university in Alabama. This work also left its mark on academic landscape design and planning more generally.