Clemson Tigers Travel Bug

To travel to as many caches located in areas around colleges as possible. This started its travel in Pawleys Island SC, USA.

History

Thomas Green Clemson, the University's founder, was born in Philadelphia and educated in the United States and Europe. He was a champion of formal scientific education and had a lifelong interest in agricultural affairs and farming.

He came to the Foothills of South Carolina when, in 1838, he married Anna Maria Calhoun, daughter of South Carolina's famous statesman, John C. Calhoun.

In the post-Civil War days of 1865, Thomas Clemson looked upon a South that lay in economic ruin, once remarking "this country is in wretched condition, no money and nothing to sell. Everyone is ruined, and those that can are leaving."

When Thomas Clemson died on April 6, 1888, it set in motion a series of events that marked the start of a new era in higher education in the state of South Carolina. Mr. Clemson left most of his estate to be used to establish a college that would teach scientific agriculture and the mechanical arts to the young people of South Carolina.

In his will, he bequeathed the Fort Hill plantation and a considerable sum from his personal assets for the establishment of an educational institution of the kind he envisioned.

In November 1889, Governor Richardson signed the bill accepting Thomas Clemson's gift which established the Clemson Agricultural College, with its trustees becoming custodians of Morrill Act and Hatch Act funds made available for agricultural education and research purposes by federal legislative acts.

Although he also is remembered today for other accomplishments, Thomas Clemson made his greatest historical contribution when his life became intertwined with the destiny of educational and economic development in South Carolina. Although he never lived to see it, his dedicated efforts culminated in the founding of Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina.

Clemson College formally opened in July 1893 with an enrollment of 446. From the beginning, the college was an all-male military school. It remained this way until 1955 when the change was made to "civilian" status for students and Clemson became a coeducational institution. In 1964 the college was renamed Clemson University as the state Legislature formally recognized the school's expanded academic offerings and research pursuits.

Today, more than a century after its opening, the University is much more than its founder ever could have imagined or hoped. With its diverse learning and research facilities, the University provides an educational opportunity not only for the people of the state, as Mr. Clemson dreamed, but for thousands of young men and women throughout the country and the world.