History - Virginia Tech

[00:00:03] >> The year was 1872. The Civil War had been over for just seven years. Ulysses S Grant was President of the United States. Yellowstone became the world's first national park. And a small Methodist school in Blacksburg relinquished its name and property to the state to become Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, the humble beginnings of Virginia Tech. [00:00:38] The school opened its doors on October 1, 1872 and William Addison Caldwell walked over 25 miles from the family farm in Craig County to become the first student to register. The college was now in business with one building and five instructors. In 1862, Congress set aside land in each state to establish a school dedicated to teaching agriculture and mechanical arts for the working classes and Virginia Tech was founded as one of these land grant schools. [00:01:17] It continues to this day with a three part mission of teaching, research, and outreach. For 92 years, Virginia Tech would be considered a military school with its male students known as cadets. Through the years, to be a cadet meant wearing a uniform both on and off campus, marching to class and on the Drillfield, passing room inspection, and conforming to most other forms of military life. [00:01:50] In 1888, Barracks No.1 was built and still stands today, renamed Lane Hall. In 1892, the same year the first master's degree was awarded, someone spent a $1.25 for an oddly shaped ball and the college had its first football team. The first gam