Texas Tech University Dairy Barn
Lubbock, Lubbock County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The dairy barn at Texas Tech University was completed in 1927 and was built to house the cows used by the Animal Husbandry Department. The barn and adjacent silo were designed by the architectural and engineering firm of Sanguinet, Staats & Hedrick. Principal architect Wyatt Hedrick designed an Arts and Crafts bungalow barn, a style that differed from the central campus Spanish Renaissance Revival architecture. Two agricultural instructors, Dr. A.H. Leidigh and W.L. Stangel, were instrumental in the planning stages, suggesting that the barn should appeal to the sensibilities of farmers. The El Paso firm of Ramey Bros. was awarded the contract in July 1925 to build the dairy barn complex. The barn closely followed standard dairy farming configuration and was constructed with hollow-tile walls plastered with gray stucco, wood windows, doors and exposed rafter ends. The free-standing silo was constructed from cast concrete and features a conical roof. The plans for the two-wing barn included a milk house, sun room, milking and feeding room, calf stalls, boiler room, feed mixing room and an office. By 1930, the dairy produced enough milk, butter and ice cream for the college cafeteria and private customers. Students who kept their cows at the dairy reduced their tuition through the sale of the dairy’s products. The barn was damaged in a fire on January 29, 1930, but was repaired and remained in use until 1966 when the Dairy Manufacturing Department vacated the building. Soon after, the milk house and sun room wings were demolished to make way for the Foreign Language Building. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 2015
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Completed in 1927 to house the cows of Texas Tech's Animal Husbandry Department, this dairy barn was deliberately designed as an Arts and Crafts bungalow to appeal to the farmers the young college served, setting it apart from the campus's Spanish Renaissance Revival architecture. Architect Wyatt Hedrick laid out a working dairy complete with milk house, milking rooms, calf stalls, and a cast-concrete silo. By 1930 the operation supplied milk, butter, and ice cream to the cafeteria, and students could offset their tuition by selling the products of cows they kept there.
Why it matters
The barn is a tangible reminder of the agricultural mission at the heart of West Texas land-grant education, when a college and the farming families around it grew up together.
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Related people
- · Wyatt Hedrick
- · A.H. Leidigh
- · W.L. Stangel
Themes & tags
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