Agricultural Innovation
The first USDA farm demonstration in the U.S. happened near Terrell in 1903
Walter Porter's farm near Terrell was chosen by the USDA in 1903 as the site of the nation's first agricultural demonstration farm — the model that led to today's Cooperative Extension Service.
In 1903, boll weevils were destroying cotton crops across the South. The U.S. Department of Agriculture sent Seaman A. Knapp — then 70 years old — to show farmers that scientific methods could defeat the pest. In February 1903, a committee chose the farm of Walter C. and his wife near Terrell as the test plot. Local farmers and businessmen pooled $1,000 to protect Porter against losses if the experiment failed.
The experiment succeeded. Porter's cotton production nearly doubled. Knapp eventually hired 33 agents to replicate the approach, who were assigned to counties beginning in 1906. This demonstration-farm model became the foundation for the nationwide Cooperative Extension Service, which still operates through land-grant universities today. A historical marker honors the site.
Source to confirm: TSHA Handbook of Texas — Porter Farm