UNL’s Panhandle Research and Extension Center has had three homes in 100 years

Three homes of the Panhandle Research and Extension Center: the original 1910 building (top), the Lionel Harris Building (center) and the J.G. Elliott Building (bottom, in 1974).

By David Ostdiek
Communications Specialist
Panhandle Research and Extension Center

Home, home on the range.

In a century of existence, the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center has had three of them.
When the center was founded in 1910 as the Scotts Bluff Experimental Substation, buildings were erected, native sod broken, and experimental plots planted on a 160-acre tract 6 miles east of Mitchell. To get there today, drive 4 miles north of Scottsbluff on Highway 71, then 1 mile west on Experiment Farm Road.

There are still experimental plots and several buildings (constructed later) at this location, in addition to a feedlot built in the 1970s and expanded to a state-of-the-art facility in 2007. But the Panhandle Center headquarters are now located much closer to the city of Scottsbluff.

“The College of Agriculture of the University of Nebraska: The First Century,” published in 1987 by the university, describes the experiment station’s founding and its development over the years. The information in this article came from this book, as well as historical accounts from the files at the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center.

The original experimental substation was constructed on land provided by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. By July 1910 an office and laboratory had been built, in addition to a barn, grain bin, machine shed and other structures. By 1912, four houses had been constructed for station personnel. USDA managed the plots until 1948, when the land and management were turned over to the State of Nebraska, and subsequently the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL).

Along the way, other improvements were made. Acreage grew to 320 acres, in addition to 800 acres of experimental rangeland several miles north in Sioux County. One of the first milking parlors in America was designed and built at the station in 1939. A well was installed in 1946, and a potato research storage laboratory was built in 1952.

The first superintendent, Fritz Knorr, served from 1910-16. His successor, James A. Holden served from 1917-34, when Lionel Harris started his 33-year tenure.

It was in 1956, under Harris’ leadership, that a new administration and laboratory building was dedicated on the site.
The 8,600-square-foot Lionel Harris Building housed an auditorium, office space, five research laboratories, and offices for administration, research workers and the Extension Service. By that time the technical staff had grown to 11 people, some with university appointments and some whose positions were supported in whole or part by USDA.

The Harris building served as the headquarters for the research station until 1975. It also housed the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab until its closure several years ago. Today it is used by a variety of programs for laboratory space, storage and other purposes. In the future, it could be used to house visiting scientists and graduate students. The potential is being studied.

In the early 1970s, a unique opportunity to move to a larger, newer building – at no cost – presented itself. Hiram Scott College, a liberal arts college created in 1965 by Scottsbluff-area businessmen, closed in 1972 for lack of students. The Scottsbluff-Gering Payroll Development Foundation offered to give more than 200 acres of land and improvements to the university.

In 1973 the Legislature approved a proposal by State Sen. Terry Carpenter to accept the land and buildings for the university, but Gov. J. James Exon vetoed the bill. After the Legislature failed to override the veto, Carpenter proposed that the facility be accepted under the condition that it would not develop into a degree-granting institution, but would be used for agricultural research. This proposal was accepted by the Unicameral.
The deed was transferred on Feb. 1, 1974. The superintendent at the time was Dr. John Weihing, who was appointed in 1971 to direct not only research, but also Extension activities in the Panhandle.

The headquarters building at the Hiram Scott location was named the J.G. Elliott Building, after a Scottsbluff business leader who served on the NU Board of Regents from 1952-74.

Even after the acquisition of the old Hiram Scott College, all of the land and buildings at the Mitchell location were retained. The original site now consists of 210 acres of research plots, including the Knorr-Holden plots, planted to corn continuously since 1912. The Panhandle Research Feedlot also is located there.

At the new site, not all of the land or buildings were needed by the university, and some of it was sold to the Veterans Administration. The Payroll Development Foundation specified that money from this sale, in addition to an existing cash reserve and some rental income, should be used by the Panhandle Station for physical plant improvement.

The Elliott building has gone through several renovations and remodeling, and in 2010 it houses offices for about 14 faculty members, as well as administrative and support staff. The building also has an auditorium and several meeting rooms with satellite and internet connections.

There are laboratories for weed science; entomology; plant pathology; soil sciences; crop physiology; equipment and irrigation; potatoes and range ecology; plant breeding, genetics, genomics and biotechnology for dry edible beans; and the same capabilities for alternative crops, especially proso and foxtail millets. There are several greenhouses and shops.

The western part of the building houses the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing West Nebraska Division, as well as the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Business Development Center.

The land surrounding the Elliott building includes 156 acres of irrigated research plots and the D.A. Murphy Panhandle Arboretum, 40 acres of landscaped grounds and research plots.

The UNL complex is now known as the Panhandle Research and Extension Center, reflecting a mission that includes not only research, but also extension – sharing with the public what is learned through research.