John Clough Holmes
Encyclopedia
John Clough Holmes was responsible for the establishment of Michigan State University
. As the co-founder of the Michigan State Agricultural Society, John Clough Holmes spearheaded the movement to build an agriculture college
in Michigan. Holmes Hall, the home of the Lyman Briggs College, is named in his honor.
After moving to Detroit
at age 26, Holmes married into a merchant
family. He later got involved in both the Detroit Horticultural Society and the Board of Education
. In 1849, his background in horticulture and education
led him to co-found the Michigan State Agricultural Society, a group dedicated to establishing a state-funded agricultural college in Michigan. Holmes spent the next six years drafting legislation
and gaining support for his cause, and in 1855, the Michigan state governor
signed a bill establishing the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan.
Holmes was keenly involved with the details of the Agricultural College, influencing everything from the purchase of land for the campus, layout of the buildings, and even the placement of the chairs and tables. Once the College opened, he assumed the role of treasurer
and later Professor
of Horticulture. By 1861, Holmes had fallen out of favor with the other College administrators
, and retired to his home in Detroit. Nevertheless, he continued to support and visit the college until his death in 1887.
, John Clough Holmes moved to Michigan
in 1835, and gained employment in a Detroit
merchant store. Within five years he had married his boss's daughter, and soon became a partner in the family business. Holmes served as president of the Detroit Horticultural Society in 1847. The following two years he was a member of the Board of Education of Detroit. Then in 1849 he co-founded the Michigan State Agricultural Society.
The Michigan State Agricultural Society immediately assumed a lofty goal to foster the establishment of a state-funded agricultural college in Michigan. Holmes, who served as secretary of the Agricultural Society from 1849 to 1857, was also the college's most tenacious proponent. In conference with his fellow society members, he drafted a bill that would create the college. Significantly, Holmes (among others) vehemently admonished that this college be independent of both the University of Michigan
in Ann Arbor
and the Normal School
in Ypsilanti
, for he "feared that agricultural studies would not receive the attention needed to survive and thrive" at those schools.
Holmes spent the next five years gathering supporters for his grassroots
movement, traveling at his own expense to gather petition signatures from across the state. On January 14, 1855, Holmes went to the state capital of Lansing
to lobby the legislature for an agricultural college. He spent the next four weeks championing the bill he wrote and cementing support in both the House of Representatives
and the Senate
. Though many legislators supported the basic concept of a state-funded agricultural college, there was strong opposition from University of Michigan
president Henry Tappan
, who wanted the agriculture program to be part of his school. Nevertheless, Holmes prevailed. On February 12, 1855, Michigan Governor Kinsley S. Bingham
signed Act 130, establishing the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the school that would become Michigan State University
. The final draft of the bill held only two significant differences from the one that Holmes presented: that the purchase price not exceed US $15 per acre, rather than the $25 Holmes desired; and that the site must be within ten miles (16 km) of Lansing, a provision added to silence the various factions that wanted the new college built in their own backyards.
Holmes' work had only begun: Act 130 put the Agricultural Society wholly in charge of selecting the site for the Agricultural College. In June 1855, Holmes and the society's executive committee visited nine sites of offered land, including some near the present towns of Holt
, Millett, DeWitt
, and Haslett
. As a result of the low stipulated price of $15 per acre
, all of the sites were uncleared land, and many were quite untenable for a campus. Eventually, Holmes wrote the proposal to purchase the 677 acres (274 ha) Burr farm, located three miles due east of the capitol. He also included a second proposal, outlining both the college's organization and "specific appointments for a staff."
The State Board of Education approved the site purchase in July 1855, but months later had proven unable to make any progress in deciding on basics for the college—including what buildings it might require. The Board turned to Holmes, who had continued to acquaint himself with the site by making some preliminary surveys. After some consideration, he reported back to the Board that the school required two main buildings: a combination classroom and office building, and a dormitory. Thus, John C. Holmes is the man responsible for the design of both College Hall
and the original dormitory, now known as Saints' Rest
. In addition, although Professor Harold W. Lautner (who, as the official Director of Campus Planning from 1945 to 1969, was a direct successor to Holmes) makes a point of noting that "who proposed the sites for these first buildings is not answered in any record," he concurs that Holmes' ubiquitous hand makes it unlikely that anyone else made that decision.
The buildings were completed, and the first classes commenced in May 1857. As the College began operations, Holmes was appointed its treasurer. Showing that no decision was small enough to escape his view, he is said to have "supervised the placing of chairs and tables in College Hall." The college's 200-volume library was donated by the Michigan State Agricultural Society—curiously, this meant that Holmes (as secretary of the society) had conveyed the library to himself (as treasurer of the college).
In addition to treasurer, Holmes was appointed as the school's first superintendent
of horticulture
, responsible for campus planning
and planting. This title was used alternately with Professor for a short period. On February 2, 1858, the Horticulture Professorship was suspended, ostensibly for financial reasons (as well as the fact that the wild condition of the land hardly warranted a full-time horticulturalist as yet). Even so, Holmes was allowed to continue residing in one of the original on-campus Faculty Row houses until the end of the term.
Then, on March 8, 1859, Holmes was asked to resign as treasurer, and he complied. Some time in that year or the one following, he was appointed once again as Superintendent of Horticulture, guiding students in planting the College gardens and improving the grounds. Through 1861 he continued to be listed in the college catalog under various titles including Professor of Horticulture, Secretary, and Treasurer.
to the newly formed Board of Agriculture. Holmes was "not retained despite the urging of his colleagues and the unquestioned spiritual debt which the College owed him." Holmes returned to the Detroit area, lived another twenty-six years, and remained active in his community. Although he continued to be, as President T. C. Abbot
wrote circa 1883, "a not infrequent and always welcome visitor at the college, and one of its warmest friends," Holmes never again held any official position at the College. There is no known explanation for this change of fortune, but as Lautner wrote, "clearly there were troubles here other than financial ones that are not suggested in the minutes."
Professor Lautner contrasts Holmes' legacy with that of John Harvard
, whose donation of a modest library and four hundred British pounds led to a major university that bears his name
, implying that MSU's debt to Holmes is far greater. Professor William J. Beal
called him "the most important agent" of the school, while President Abbot said, "To no one man is the College so much indebted as John Clough Holmes." One hundred years after the founding, Madison Kuhn's high regard for Holmes was clear, using as the frontispiece of his book a painting clearly meant to signify the exact moment of the Agricultural College's genesis with an almost mythological glow. Finally in 1965, MSU named a new six story modernist residence hall after Holmes. The building still stands to this day, and is home to the Lyman Briggs College.
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
. As the co-founder of the Michigan State Agricultural Society, John Clough Holmes spearheaded the movement to build an agriculture college
Land-grant university
Land-grant universities are institutions of higher education in the United States designated by each state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890....
in Michigan. Holmes Hall, the home of the Lyman Briggs College, is named in his honor.
After moving to Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
at age 26, Holmes married into a merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
family. He later got involved in both the Detroit Horticultural Society and the Board of Education
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
. In 1849, his background in horticulture and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
led him to co-found the Michigan State Agricultural Society, a group dedicated to establishing a state-funded agricultural college in Michigan. Holmes spent the next six years drafting legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
and gaining support for his cause, and in 1855, the Michigan state governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
signed a bill establishing the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan.
Holmes was keenly involved with the details of the Agricultural College, influencing everything from the purchase of land for the campus, layout of the buildings, and even the placement of the chairs and tables. Once the College opened, he assumed the role of treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
and later Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Horticulture. By 1861, Holmes had fallen out of favor with the other College administrators
Academic administration
An academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities...
, and retired to his home in Detroit. Nevertheless, he continued to support and visit the college until his death in 1887.
Biography
Born in Salem, MassachusettsSalem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
, John Clough Holmes moved to Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
in 1835, and gained employment in a Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
merchant store. Within five years he had married his boss's daughter, and soon became a partner in the family business. Holmes served as president of the Detroit Horticultural Society in 1847. The following two years he was a member of the Board of Education of Detroit. Then in 1849 he co-founded the Michigan State Agricultural Society.
The Michigan State Agricultural Society immediately assumed a lofty goal to foster the establishment of a state-funded agricultural college in Michigan. Holmes, who served as secretary of the Agricultural Society from 1849 to 1857, was also the college's most tenacious proponent. In conference with his fellow society members, he drafted a bill that would create the college. Significantly, Holmes (among others) vehemently admonished that this college be independent of both the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
and the Normal School
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
in Ypsilanti
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,362. The city is bounded to the north by the Charter Township of Superior and on the west, south, and east by the Charter Township of Ypsilanti...
, for he "feared that agricultural studies would not receive the attention needed to survive and thrive" at those schools.
Holmes spent the next five years gathering supporters for his grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
movement, traveling at his own expense to gather petition signatures from across the state. On January 14, 1855, Holmes went to the state capital of Lansing
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
to lobby the legislature for an agricultural college. He spent the next four weeks championing the bill he wrote and cementing support in both the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. Though many legislators supported the basic concept of a state-funded agricultural college, there was strong opposition from University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
president Henry Tappan
Henry Philip Tappan
Henry Philip Tappan was an American philosopher, educator and academic administrator. He is officially considered the first president of the University of Michigan....
, who wanted the agriculture program to be part of his school. Nevertheless, Holmes prevailed. On February 12, 1855, Michigan Governor Kinsley S. Bingham
Kinsley S. Bingham
Kinsley Scott Bingham was a U.S. Representative, a U.S. Senator, and the 11th Governor of the state of Michigan.-Early life in New York:...
signed Act 130, establishing the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the school that would become Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
. The final draft of the bill held only two significant differences from the one that Holmes presented: that the purchase price not exceed US $15 per acre, rather than the $25 Holmes desired; and that the site must be within ten miles (16 km) of Lansing, a provision added to silence the various factions that wanted the new college built in their own backyards.
Holmes' work had only begun: Act 130 put the Agricultural Society wholly in charge of selecting the site for the Agricultural College. In June 1855, Holmes and the society's executive committee visited nine sites of offered land, including some near the present towns of Holt
Holt, Michigan
Holt is an unincorporated community within Delhi Charter Township, Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place used for statistical purposes. The population was 11,315 at the 2000 census....
, Millett, DeWitt
DeWitt, Michigan
DeWitt is a city in Clinton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,507 at the 2010 census.-History:DeWitt was named after DeWitt Clinton, Governor of New York during the 1830s. It was first settled by Captain David Scott, who moved there from Ann Arbor in 1833, and platted the...
, and Haslett
Haslett, Michigan
Haslett is an unincorporated community in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place used for statistical purposes. The population was 11,283 at the 2000 census. Though it has its own school district and post office , Haslett is administered by Meridian Charter...
. As a result of the low stipulated price of $15 per acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
, all of the sites were uncleared land, and many were quite untenable for a campus. Eventually, Holmes wrote the proposal to purchase the 677 acres (274 ha) Burr farm, located three miles due east of the capitol. He also included a second proposal, outlining both the college's organization and "specific appointments for a staff."
The State Board of Education approved the site purchase in July 1855, but months later had proven unable to make any progress in deciding on basics for the college—including what buildings it might require. The Board turned to Holmes, who had continued to acquaint himself with the site by making some preliminary surveys. After some consideration, he reported back to the Board that the school required two main buildings: a combination classroom and office building, and a dormitory. Thus, John C. Holmes is the man responsible for the design of both College Hall
College Hall (Michigan State University)
College Hall was the first building erected on the campus of the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan , and the first in the United States to be erected "for the teaching of scientific agriculture." Reputedly designed by John C...
and the original dormitory, now known as Saints' Rest
Saints' Rest
Saints' Rest was the second building erected on the campus of the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan . It was built in 1856 and served as the school's only dormitory until 1870, when Williams Hall was completed...
. In addition, although Professor Harold W. Lautner (who, as the official Director of Campus Planning from 1945 to 1969, was a direct successor to Holmes) makes a point of noting that "who proposed the sites for these first buildings is not answered in any record," he concurs that Holmes' ubiquitous hand makes it unlikely that anyone else made that decision.
The buildings were completed, and the first classes commenced in May 1857. As the College began operations, Holmes was appointed its treasurer. Showing that no decision was small enough to escape his view, he is said to have "supervised the placing of chairs and tables in College Hall." The college's 200-volume library was donated by the Michigan State Agricultural Society—curiously, this meant that Holmes (as secretary of the society) had conveyed the library to himself (as treasurer of the college).
In addition to treasurer, Holmes was appointed as the school's first superintendent
Superintendent (education)
In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....
of horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
, responsible for campus planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
and planting. This title was used alternately with Professor for a short period. On February 2, 1858, the Horticulture Professorship was suspended, ostensibly for financial reasons (as well as the fact that the wild condition of the land hardly warranted a full-time horticulturalist as yet). Even so, Holmes was allowed to continue residing in one of the original on-campus Faculty Row houses until the end of the term.
Then, on March 8, 1859, Holmes was asked to resign as treasurer, and he complied. Some time in that year or the one following, he was appointed once again as Superintendent of Horticulture, guiding students in planting the College gardens and improving the grounds. Through 1861 he continued to be listed in the college catalog under various titles including Professor of Horticulture, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Legacy
In 1861, a major reorganization of the College transferred control from the Board of EducationBoard of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
to the newly formed Board of Agriculture. Holmes was "not retained despite the urging of his colleagues and the unquestioned spiritual debt which the College owed him." Holmes returned to the Detroit area, lived another twenty-six years, and remained active in his community. Although he continued to be, as President T. C. Abbot
Theophilus C. Abbot
Theophilus Capen Abbot was president of State Agricultural College from 1862 to 1885...
wrote circa 1883, "a not infrequent and always welcome visitor at the college, and one of its warmest friends," Holmes never again held any official position at the College. There is no known explanation for this change of fortune, but as Lautner wrote, "clearly there were troubles here other than financial ones that are not suggested in the minutes."
Professor Lautner contrasts Holmes' legacy with that of John Harvard
John Harvard (clergyman)
John Harvard was an English minister in America whose deathbed bequest to the Massachusetts Bay Colony's fledgling New College was so gratefully received that the school was renamed Harvard College in his honor.-Biography:Harvard was born and raised in Southwark, England, the fourth of nine...
, whose donation of a modest library and four hundred British pounds led to a major university that bears his name
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, implying that MSU's debt to Holmes is far greater. Professor William J. Beal
William J. Beal
William James Beal was an American botanist.-Biography:Beal was born in Adrian, Michigan, to William and Rachel Beal, and he married Hannah Proud in 1863. He attended the University of Michigan, which gave him an A.B. degree in 1859 and an A.M. degree in 1862; he also received an S.B. degree...
called him "the most important agent" of the school, while President Abbot said, "To no one man is the College so much indebted as John Clough Holmes." One hundred years after the founding, Madison Kuhn's high regard for Holmes was clear, using as the frontispiece of his book a painting clearly meant to signify the exact moment of the Agricultural College's genesis with an almost mythological glow. Finally in 1965, MSU named a new six story modernist residence hall after Holmes. The building still stands to this day, and is home to the Lyman Briggs College.