Institute Farm, also known as the Loudoun Agricultural and Mechanical Institute, was the first agricultural school in Virginia and one of the earliest institutions devoted to agronomy in the United States. Located near Aldie, Virginia, the school was established as the Loudoun County Agricultural Institute and Chemical Academy around 1854 on a former portion of

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

James Monroe's Oak Hill plantation.

History

The institute was established by Benjamin Hyde Benton, Harmon Bitzer and James Gulick, who were active in the Agricultural Society of Loudoun, on land belonging to Gulick's family. The school lasted for only six years, suffering from the

Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph by Samuel F. Morse in 1844, the Panic of 1857 was ...

and failing in 1860. Gulick put the property up for sale, but with the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

in 1861, was unable to sell. Gulickjoined the Confederate Army and was killed in 1864 at the Battle of Upperville. The property was by his estate to a neighbor, Isabella Turner. Turner's estate sold the property to the Institute Corporation in 1916, whereupon the property became the headquarters for the National Beagle Club of America, which retains the property.

Architecture

The main house is a -story stuccoed stone building. The large plain building is six bays wide with a partly sunken basement. The main entrance is through a small porch offset to the right to the first floor, replacing the original entrance, which was on the opposite side facing a tiered garden. The interior remains largely as it was when the property was a school, with a central hallway on each level running the length of the building. The second floor and attic levels are partitioned into smaller rooms originally used as dormitories. The property also features 13 log cabins built between 1917 and 1971, used by the club during beagle shows and trials for lodging. The property was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on July 8, 1982.

References

External links

National Beagle Club of America page on the property
School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Loudoun County, Virginia Buildings and structures in Loudoun County, Virginia Defunct schools in Virginia 1854 establishments in Virginia {{LoudounCountyVA-NRHP-stub