What was the jesup wagon?
In 1906, George Washington Carver of Tuskegee University developed a plan for the first “movable school”-a mule-drawn wagon that would carry farm machinery, seeds, and dairy equipment to demonstrate improved methods to farmers. This wagon, later named the Jesup Wagon in honor of the New York businessman who provided the original funding, became the forerunner of the Cooperative Extension System and its efforts to take the university to the people. The Jesup Wagon is now stationed outside the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a reminder of one of the strongest coalitions for sustainable economic progress in rural areas-the continuing partnership between USDA, the 1890 institutions, and Tuskegee University.
