CATHEY: 113 years of Oklahoma School of Mines and Metallurgy at Eastern Oklahoma State College | Local News


The Oklahoma Territorial Legislature of 1890 passed a law creating three institutions of higher education in order to meet a requirement of the Organic Act of Congress establishing the territory. Congress demanded that the territory establish three types of public higher education: liberal arts and vocational education, agricultural education and mechanical arts to meet the land grant college provisions of Morrill Act. of 1862 and the training of teachers.

Territorial Governor George Washington Steele signed the bill creating the University of Oklahoma, the institution designated to provide liberal arts and vocational education, on December 19, 1890. Six days later, Christmas Day 1890, Governor Steele signed bills creating the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in Stillwater, the land grant institution, and the Oklahoma Normal School for Teachers in Edmond to train teachers for public schools in the new territory. . These two institutions are known today as Oklahoma State University and University of Central Oklahoma, respectively.

In 1908, Oklahoma’s first legislature, convened shortly after the state’s creation, established two college-level schools: the Industrial Institute and College for Girls at Chickasha (now the University of Science and the Arts at Chickasha). ‘Oklahoma) and Wilburton School of Mines and Metallurgy (now Eastern Oklahoma State College). Wilburton’s school was destined to become the eastern double of Norman University.

Earlier in 1908, the new state government announced plans to establish three normal schools to train teachers in the eastern part of the state. Progressive community leaders viewed Wilburton as one of these communities, although there were indications that Ada, Durant, and Tahlequah would receive these schools.

At a meeting of the Wilburton 20,000 Club, an unidentified person stood up and suggested that a mining school might be an alternative if the normal school could not be obtained. He said that with Wilburton in the midst of the coal belt and all the activity in the area, it seemed like a good idea to him and most of the men present to look into the matter. The general attitude developed that with all the fatal and non-fatal accidents in the mining industry, it appeared that a mining school was badly needed.

In 1908, 2,700,000 tons of coal, worth $ 6 million, were mined in Oklahoma. Wilburton was at that time the leader in tonnes mined in Oklahoma. The city was bustling with mining activity and the city was growing faster than expected. In just a few days, the idea caught on in Wilburton circles; the main focus has been shifted towards securing a mining school.

During an evening sitting of the Oklahoma Legislature on May 26, 1908, Bill 621 establishing a school of mining and metallurgy, with its location in Wilburton, was approved and the Thursday, May 28, 1908, was signed by the first Governor of Oklahoma Charles N Haskell.

The bill authorized the establishment of an educational institution for the purpose of teaching technical courses in the field of mining and metallurgy, as well as mathematics, chemistry and related subjects. These courses were to lead to a mining engineering degree upon completion of a comprehensive four-year study program. The bill also stated that the location of the school would be in Wilburton, provided citizens perform a deed of guarantee to the state of Oklahoma. The properties had to be free and clear of all charges. The law stipulated that the property was to be no less than 40 acres and no less than three miles from the city.

The first benefactors of the college realized when members of the 20,000 Club began to solicit citizens for pledges for the purchase of land for the permanent site of the school. The stipulation provided that the citizens of Wilburton were to present the lands free of charge and at no cost to the state. It was necessary to work on the realization of the market share of the city.

With plans to move into temporary quarters in downtown Wilburton, until funds were acquired and construction began, the first president of the Oklahoma College of Mines and Metallurgy was chosen. Dr George E. Ladd came to Wilburton with impressive credentials. He was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, educated at Dummer Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, and Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1887, a master’s degree in 1888, and finally a doctorate. in 1894 from the University of Munich in Bavaria, Germany.

In 1910, the contract for the construction of the Ore Dressing and Metallurgy building (now Mitchell Hall) and the ground floor or basement of the main conference and laboratory building, commonly known as the Science Building, was leased to the Chandler’s Manhattan Construction Company. The two original buildings were first occupied in 1911 and today, 110 years later, the ore processing and metallurgy building is still in use. And Manhattan Construction is also in business, involved in projects across the United States.

The summer and fall of 1917 were dark times for the Oklahoma School of Mines and Metallurgy. Following the conscription of the First World War and the reduction of State funds, the school closed its doors. In the summer of 1919, the Oklahoma School of Mines and Metallurgy was reopened. In addition to mining and engineering courses, it served as a trade and industry school for the training of disabled veterans of the First World War.

A program of improvements and repairs has been instituted on the campus and the buildings. Land was acquired for a school farm; purebred poultry, pigs and cattle, and farm implements were purchased; experiments have been made along agricultural lines; a specific program has been put in place to make the school a factor in the development of agricultural possibilities in eastern Oklahoma.

The Eleventh Oklahoma Legislature of 1927 changed the name of the Oklahoma School of Mining and Metallurgy to Eastern Oklahoma College; the charter authorizing the school to offer a four-year course and to award diplomas has not been modified. Due to a small faculty and lack of equipment, it functioned as a junior college. In addition to regular college courses, there has also been an emphasis on vocational courses related to business and industry.

Oklahoma’s Fourteenth Legislature of 1933 passed a bill authorizing the school to “care for, train and educate dependent youth and orphans in the state who had attained the equivalent of a common educational standard and who , due to being poor, dependent, neglected or orphaned may be able to care for, trained or educated otherwise. The provisions of this bill have brought students from the majority of counties in the state to Wilburton.

The Seventeenth Oklahoma Legislature of 1939 again changed the name of the college and it became the Eastern Oklahoma Agriculture and Mechanical College under the control of the State Board of Agriculture. Putting the institution under the control of the State Council of Agriculture gave it a much more stable position among public schools. Agriculture had been privileged for years; the changed name gave it credit.

Eastern Oklahoma Agriculture and Mechanical College underwent a permanent name change in May 1967. The new label was Eastern Oklahoma State College of Agriculture and Applied Science due to legislation. Typically, the school would be called “Eastern Oklahoma State College” and would only use the full name for official documents.

In March 1972, an important step towards converting the East into a four-year institution was taken. The result of the Senate legislation was a separate board of trustees for the college and the college’s final and current name as Eastern Oklahoma State College.

In June 2020, Eastern Oklahoma State College appointed Dr. Janet Wansick as the 20th and first female president. As of 2021, Eastern Oklahoma State College is providing higher education and training services in a plethora of academic fields and degree programs to approximately 1,600 students at its four campuses in Southeast Oklahoma.

In its 113th year, Eastern Oklahoma State College continues to house the Oklahoma Miner Training Institute, operated under the direction of the Oklahoma Mining Commission. The Institut de l’Est provides training in all aspects of mine safety and health. Regular classes are held at school or at mine sites throughout the state.

Since 1988, Eastern Oklahoma State College and its Alumni Association have recognized alumni who have distinguished themselves in their profession and community by inducting them into the EOSC Hall of Fame. Notable members of the EOSC Hall of Fame include former four-term Governor of Oklahoma George Nigh, former Oklahoma Chancellor for Higher Education, Dr ET Dunlap, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, Tom Colbert, and Evelyn Jo Whisehunt-Guthery Boeing Engineer / Space Chief of Shuttle Mission et al.

Nominations for the 2021 Hall of Fame Class are currently open until September 8, 2021. Nomination guidelines and nominations are available at: https://www.eosc.edu/about/alumni-friends/eosc- alumni-association / hall-nomination-form-of-fame / former-students-of-fame.

The Alumni Hall of Fame induction ceremony and banquet is scheduled for Friday, November 12, 2021, with activities starting at 6 p.m. at Eastern’s Wilburton campus as part of the annual Reunion Weekend celebration. .

For more information on the EOSC Alumni Association, the nomination process and the Hall of Fame event, contact Teresa Brady, Executive Director of the EOSC Foundation and Alumni Relations, at 918-465 -1761.

Contact Mike Cathey at [email protected].

About Mark A. Tomlin

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