Extension History
Oregon Extension Founded in 1911
Oregon leaders had anticipated passage of this legislation (Smith-Lever) some time in advance and had obtained state appropriations for
Extension work by Chapter 110, Oregon Laws, 1913. At the time of the passage of the state act, Oregon State College was already cooperating
with two counties, the Board of Regents having appointed the first Oregon Director of Extension in September 1911. The first women in Extension
work were a state leader of home economics and a state club leader, both appointed in 1914. The first county agent in Oregon was appointed in
Marion County on September 7, 1912. Financing on the first agent was entirely from commercial sources raised through the local Chamber of Commerce.
While no state funds were used, the county agent had close connections with the college, using experiment station results as the basis of his
demonstration program and calling upon college specialists for assistance.
The second county agent was appointed September 8, 1912, in Wallowa County. Financed by the Federal Office of Farm Management Demonstrations
and the OWR&N Railroad.
After passage of the state act in 1913, seven additional counties began cooperation by appropriation of county funds for Extension work under
the provisions of the same act. There was a gradual increase in cooperating counties up to the time of the outbreak of World War 1. In 1917, 14
county agents were employed.
In 1937, for the first time, every county was cooperating in the employment of one or more Extension agents, and the number has rapidly increased since that time.
