Beaumont Tower - Michigan State University

As frequent followers of this blog know, I am a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and a fan of the University of Michigan. As such, both of those Universities make frequent appearances in this blog. There are other fine institutions of higher learning in this State. So in the interest of non-bias, I will feature one of them.

Since I was wandering around the Lansing Area yesterday, I decided that I would swing through the Michigan State University Campus and try to get some pictures of the buildings there. Unfortunately, I didn't see too many buildings that I was particularly interested in taking pictures of so I didn't take many pictures of the campus. I probably should have done a little more research before swinging through the campus, I guess.

Michigan State University is located in East Lansing and follows along the banks of the Red Cedar River. It was established in 1855 and is considered the first Land Grant University and served as the model for future Land Grant Colleges established under the Morril Act in 1862. Following the Morril Act, it became co-ed and expanded it's programs to include things other than agriculture. Because of its emphasis on agriculture education, it is sometimes called "Moo U".

After World War II, the student population tripled and it became considered as a major university. It is currently the 9th largest University in the country with over 45,000 students. Many of its programs are considered top notch. Its sport teams are called the Spartans and they compete in the Big Ten.

Michigan State has its origins in 1850 when the Michigan Constitution called for the creation of an agriculture school although it wasn't official until the Governor signed the legislation in 1855. Michigan State was then the United States' first agricultural college and was known as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan. The first President tried to establish a broad based cirriculum but the Board of Education forced him to resign and turned the fledgling college back to a two year vocational school. In 1861, that President became Lieutenant Governor and turned it back to a 4 year college and became known as the State Agricultural College.

In 1907, it became the Michigan Agricultural College. By 1925, its curriculum included more than agriculture so it became the Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science. In 1955, it became Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science. In 1964, it officially became Michigan State University.

As I said above, I didn't find too many of the buildings I was passing by all that interesting. Except for this one which is called the Beaumont Tower. It marks the spot where College Hall used to stand. College Hall was the first building erected on campus and was constructed in 1856 and the first in the US to teach scientific agriculture. The Hall suffered many problems and had to be torn down in 1918.Beaumont Tower was erected to mark that spot. It stands 104 feet tall and was built in 1928. It has a carillon. I should have walked around because I would have seen a frieze called the sower with the inscription, "Whatsoever a man soweth". It is said that if a Spartan is destined to marry a sweetheart if they kiss under the Tower.

Anyways, I'm sure there are other architecturally interesting buildings on Michigan State's campus but my brief tower only yielded modern looking buildings that didn't really stand out to me. If any of my readers have suggestions, please use the comment section below. Thanks.