For more than 140 years, the Twin Cities campus in St. Paul has served as both a rich educational environment and an agricultural experiment station. Serving as the green oasis among an urban sprawl, get to know the early history of this side of campus, picturesque and powerful as its future propels the University forward. 

The University Farm

In 1882, the University bought 155 acres of farmland in St. Anthony Park to have one dedicated site for agriculture, forestry, home economics, and extension services. 

Known as the Experimental/University Farm, 19 buildings were erected by 1902, supplying horticulture, dairy, and livestock education throughout Minnesota. The area’s rolling topography influenced its architecture and design, with buildings arranged along a ridge facing a meadow—today known as the Lawn. 

Moo-ving on up

When the School of Agriculture was established in 1888, hundreds of students enrolled to learn at the site where industry standards were being pioneered in soil research, dairying, and farming. This helped cement the school as the first successful program of its kind nationwide.

Newly developed facilities drew student interest to the University, but cattle truly helped raise the Twin Cities campus in St. Paul to prominence: 

• In 1894, Andrew Boss offered the first course in dressing and curing meats in an agricultural school in the U.S. or Canada. This course inspired a new meat laboratory, which was built in 1901.

• Theophilus Levi Haecker, a professor of dairy husbandry, revolutionized dairying in Minnesota. His research led to the Haecker Feeding Standard in 1913 for dairy cows and a new dairy building to boot.
• The construction of the Beef Cattle Barn in 1920 supported the University’s agricultural innovations. It was one of the most modern animal husbandry facilities in the United States at the time. 

Modern muses

While agriculture, veterinary medicine, and biological sciences were driving forces for campus, home economics offered a growing number of women a chance to attend college. Founded in 1900, the department flourished under the leadership of Wylle B. McNeal and faculty members Harriet Goldstein and Vetta Goldstein. These three women spearheaded the development of the design curriculum and the expansion of home economics courses (e.g., nutrition, textiles) into distinct fields of study. Today, the foundations of the Home Economics Department can be found in the College of Design. 

The Twin Cities campus in St. Paul is also home to state landmarks that exemplify our land-grant mission, enriching communities through education and engagement initiatives: 

• The Goldstein Museum of Design was established in 1976 and is the only design museum in the Upper Midwest. It offers object-based teaching with thousands of costumes, decorative arts, and works on paper.
• The Bell Museum is the State of Minnesota’s official natural history museum. First established in 1872 at the Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis, it moved to St. Paul in 2018 near its organizational home in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. The museum houses millions of scientific records and specimens, a planetarium, and outdoor learning space. 

The future is now

In November 2024, President Rebecca Cunningham charged an advisory task force with proposing a comprehensive strategy regarding land use; student services; green, retail, and event space; and facility changes to be a catalyst for new opportunities and effectively position the campus as a destination of innovation. 

Their comprehensive strategy for the future of St. Paul will be delivered to President Cunningham by May 2025.