What did Michigan State look like 100-plus years ago? Check out these pictures
EAST LANSING — Ever wonder what Michigan State University looked like 100 years ago? These photographs from the United States National Archives give us a glimpse of life on campus during the early 20th century.The pictures, part of a National Archives collection from the Detroit Publishing Company, a photographic publishing firm that started in Detroit in the 1890s and operated until 1932, feature familiar scenes from around the East Lansing campus taken between 1905 and 1920 — well before the high-rise, luxury student apartments and traffic-clogged streets existed.
Wells Hall
The original Wells Hall at Michigan Agricultural College, a precursor to Michigan State University, was built in 1877 as a dorm that housed 130 students. A fire destroyed the building in 1905 and another was built 1907. In 1939, a second building was added to the site. In 1968, construction of today's Wells Hall began.
Campus Library-Museum
Known as Linton Hall, and still in use today, it's the oldest remaining academic building on Michigan State University's campus, according to a history of the building. This photo was taken sometime between 1905 and 1920. The building has had several uses in its more than 100-year history.
On the banks of the Red Cedar
The river has always been an integral part of the East Lansing campus; that's why the MSU fight song starts with, "On the banks of the Red Cedar, is a school that's known to all ..."
Howard Terrace
Howard Terrace was built in 1988, according to the university's website. It first housed faculty and their families, then was used as a women's dormitory. It was torn down in the early 1920s. On its site next to the MSU union on old campus sits what used to be called the Home Economic Building and later the Human Ecology Building.
Wild garden
While the National Archives' photo caption does not name the wild garden at Michigan Agricultural College, there's a good chance this was the precursor to W.J. Beal Botanical Garden, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2023. The garden was named in 1924 for Beal, a professor in botany, who started planting grasses and plants there in 1873.
Dirt roads, a horse and buggy
Transportation looked a lot different in the early 20th century, with dirt roads winding their way through Michigan Agricultural College. The university was founded in 1855 and has not stopped growing since. Its campus is 5,200 acres and the school enrolls more than 51,000 students.
Williams Hall
The original Williams Hall was built in 1869 to accommodate increasing student enrollment, according to MSU's website. The building was four stories and could house 86 students. A newer Williams Hall opened in 1938. It was named for Sarah Williams, the wife of Michigan Agricultural College's first president, Joseph Williams.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State in the early 1900s via photos from National Archives
