University Archives Photograph Collection, Glass Negatives and Lantern Slides circa 1890-circa 1960

The North Carolina College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts was founded as the state's land-grant institution in 1887, and formally opened its doors two years later. In 1917, the school was renamed the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering, reflecting its broadened instructional and research activities. The college's extension program was established in 1914, and a major reorganization of the institution occurred in 1923, with the creation of schools over its fields of study.

In 1932, "State College," as it was known, greatly reworked its curricula upon becoming part of the Consolidated University of North Carolina (later the University of North Carolina System). Undergoing unparalleled growth in size and academic programs after the Second World War, the school took on a new designation appropriate to its degree-granting and research status in 1963, when it was restyled North Carolina State of the University of North Carolina at Raleigh. Two years later, the institution was renamed North Carolina State University (officially the North Carolina State University at Raleigh).

In another key administrative change, the university's schools were redesignated colleges in 1987. That same year saw the ground breaking of the institution's Centennial Campus, a major center of academic, corporate, and governmental research. By 2007, N.C. State had a student body of over 31,000 and a faculty of nearly 2,000.

For more online information, see a Brief History of North Carolina State University and Historical Sketch of North Carolina State University.

This collection consists of glass negatives and lantern slides chiefly depicting various aspects of agriculture in North Carolina and buildings on the campus of North Carolina State University. Subjects include agricultural extension work, agricultural research, farms and farm life, animal husbandry, botany, horticulture, and crop science. One set of slides shows the university's first nuclear reactor; another comprises song slides that were presumably used at 4-H meetings or camps in the state. Many of the slides are hand-colored. Much of the material was created by or received from the Agricultural Extension Service, the Departments of Engineering Research and Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. Some sets were numbered in previous processing efforts. Original groupings have generally been maintained in the physical arrangement, but broken or cracked negatives and plates have been separated. Also included in the collection are photographic prints made from some of the negatives, manuscript material from the original storage containers, and examples of the original storage envelopes.

This collection is divided into the following series:

• Agriculture
• Athletics
• Buildings and Structures
• Charts and Graphs
• Forests and Woods
• 4-H Clubs
• North Carolina State University Campus
• People
• Water and Dams
• Photographic Prints and Manuscript Material

The nature of the NC State University Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NC State University Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which North Carolina State University assumes no responsibility.

[Identification of item], University Archives Photograph Collection, Glass Negatives and Lantern Slides, UA 023.031, Special Collections Research Center, NC State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC

Digital copies of many photographs are available online.

• University Archives Photograph Collection, Agriculture and Life Sciences (College of) Photographs, UA 023.006
• University Archives Photograph Collection, Athletics Photographs (UA 023.004)
• University Archives Photograph Collection, Campus Facilities and Views (UA 023.005)
• University Archives Photograph Collection, 4-H Youth Development Photographs (UA 023.008)

This collection was created by the University Archives.

Processed by: Special Collections Staff; machine-readable finding aid created by: Will Andersen, 2007; Finding aid updated by Kristen Merryman, 2010 March.