In this photograph from the Mansfield Historical Society’s archives, the members of Connecticut’s first 4-H sewing club pose on a lawn at the Connecticut Agricultural College. The 4-H movement grew from public university researchers’ realization that rural youth could take a large and important role in introducing new agricultural practices to their communities. In 1913, the Mansfield Corn Club was formed in Mansfield. This was the state’s first 4-H club, though others quickly followed including the Storrs Sewing Club, which formed the next year.
The Storrs Sewing Club brought together girls from villages and areas across Mansfield—Gurleyville, Eagleville, Four Corners, and Storrs—who walked to Storrs for each meeting. Ethel Cously, club head, was on the staff of the Agricultural College. In the foreground of this picture, Cously and the girls smile toward the camera. They are doubtless pleased to represent their new club, and the weather looks fair and bright. But we may speculate additional reasons for their happiness.
The College, on the grounds of which the girls stand, had recently undergone several exciting changes. At the time the photograph was taken, the College was a mere 33 years old. Begun as the Storrs Agricultural School in 1881 with three faculty members and 13 male students, the institution quickly expanded in numbers and scope.
In 1890, Gold Hall (a men’s dormitory) and “Old Main” (the main administrative building) were built. These are the buildings just barely visible in the upper left corner of the photograph. During the same year in which Gold Hall and Old Main were built, Mansfield resident Nellie Wilson became the first female to attend classes at the School. Thus in posing proudly in front of the buildings, the members of the Storrs Sewing Club were grounding themselves in a larger system of accomplishments and gains.
In 1893, the School changed its name to the Storrs Agricultural College and, in a measure passed by the Connecticut General Assembly, officially opened its doors to female pupils. The following year, three women graduated from the College. In 1899, the College was again renamed, becoming the Connecticut Agricultural College. (It would be renamed twice more, first as the Connecticut State College in 1933, and finally as the University of Connecticut in 1939.) In 1914, the same year in which this photograph was taken, Alan Thacker Busby became the first African-American student to enroll at the institution.
Within four decades, the college formed, began admitting females and African-Americans, and was already working on transforming Mansfield from a quiet system of rural villages to the bustling college town it is today. On a sunny day in 1914, 21 girls and one woman stood on the grounds of a campus that was bursting with change. They formed a wide circle, stretched their arms wide, and smiled. The image was frozen; the figures were not. They, and the world around them, left that moment and continued moving forward.
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If You’d Like to Learn More:
· A Guide to the 4-H Club Work in Mansfield Exhibit. 1995. Print. Mansfield Historical Society Archives.
· Bull, Nancy H. et al. 4-H Youth Development in Connecticut 1952-2002: An Overview of Who We Are and What We Remember. Storrs, Conn.: UConn, 2002. Print.
· “History.” About 4-H. National 4-H Council. 2012. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.
· “Timeline.” The UConn Story. University of Connecticut. 2006. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.
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