{"id":247,"date":"2024-04-26T20:11:55","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T20:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/?p=247"},"modified":"2026-04-02T17:46:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T17:46:52","slug":"farm-lane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/farm-lane\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm Lane"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Farm Lane bridge, with typical traffic, circa 1915\u20131921. This was the third bridge on the site. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Farm Lane was established very early in the Michigan Agricultural College\u2019s history, and its name suits its purpose: it was the access road to the college farm south of the river. It was positioned along the centerline of the farm for maximum access to the fields\u2014a line about a quarter-mile east of College Hall<\/a>, which might have seemed inconveniently distant in the days before motor vehicles and concrete paving. The lane was authorized by the Board of Education in 1860, along with its first bridge. (Students \u201cskilled in the use of tools\u201d built the first bridge over the river in the winter of 1857\u201358, but this was likely a simple footbridge.) The bridge, constructed of wood piles and planking, was 150 feet long, 16 feet wide, and cost $750.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almond Harrison<\/a> was commissioned to build that first bridge in April 1861 and finished it by August. He was paid in full, but within a year the Board of Agriculture was dissatisfied with the bridge\u2019s construction, as evidenced by this pointed entry in the Minutes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Resolved that Professor Fisk be requested to call on Almond Harrison, and request him to examine the South end of the bridge over the Cedar River, and see whether in his judgment, as a man of honor and fair dealing he ought not to make said bridge secure and safe, as it is now most insecure and unsafe.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Harrison seems to have responded satisfactorily, as the Minutes make no further mention of the matter.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farm Lane ran north from the bridge and then turned to the west toward the original brick horse barn<\/a>, which formed its terminus. (Today, Farm Lane turns at that same point to the east, rather than west, to meet Grand River Avenue opposite Collingwood Drive.) Around 1863, a line of fence along the east side of Farm Lane was extended north to the plank road<\/a> (now Grand River Avenue), and the lane would soon follow this line to form a new entrance to campus.3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A hay wagon crosses the second Farm Lane bridge (1875\u20131888). Date of photo is unknown but is likely very late in the bridge\u2019s lifetime, given the severely racked pilings\u2014Professor Carpenter surely did not build it that way. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The original Farm Lane bridge was carried away by ice during the spring thaw of 1875, and for much of that growing season work teams were detoured by up to three miles to cross the river. A temporary float bridge was used by students until a second wooden bridge, designed by R. C. Carpenter<\/a>, could be completed in the same year.4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1883, a large Grain Barn was built just north of the turn and astride the lane itself, effectively severing the connection between Farm Lane and Grand River Avenue. The footpath that remained continued to be used for access to the gardens further north. After the Grain Barn was\u00a0moved to a new location<\/a>\u00a0farther south in 1905, Farm Lane once again reached to the Avenue. (This entrance was finally closed some time in the 1930s, although the line remains today in the form of a walking path to Berkey Hall.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Third Farm Lane bridge, circa 1900\u20131905, looking north. Note the grain barn in the distance at right, astride the lane; it was moved in summer 1905 to the south end of the large barn at center, the Dairy Barn of 1900, to become an exercise shed. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1888, the bridge was replaced with the iron bridge seen in the photos at top and right, built by the Smith Bridge Company of Toledo, Ohio, at a cost of $1,200. Since the dairies and barnyard compounds were north of the river, and the pastures were to the south, for decades livestock was the predominant traffic across the bridge.5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a side note, in the early years of the women\u2019s course<\/a>, female students were not allowed to cross to the south side of the river. The land beyond the bridge was considered \u201ctoo wild\u201d\u2014after all, until the 1920s the south campus was truly barely tamed farmland. This was in an era of strict propriety in loco parentis<\/em>, and this rule was but one in a litany of curfews and conduct guidelines.6<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Third Farm Lane bridge in its final years, undated photo circa 1930s. View is facing north, with Kedzie Chem Lab<\/a> at left and part of a row of farm workers\u2019 cottages at right. The sign reads \u201cBridge unsafe\u2014cross at your own risk.\u201d Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1935, the Board of Agriculture \u201crequested the State Highway Department to take over the control and maintenance of Farm Lane\u2026 including the bridge over the Red Cedar.\u201d This appears to have been an attempt at getting the state to foot the bill for a new bridge, and the highway department \u201cdefinitely declined [the] invitation.\u201d Four years later Highway Commissioner Murray Van Wagoner<\/a> twice refused the Board’s request to have his department design a replacement for the 1888 bridge. The College turned to the Works Progress Administration for funding, and a new, concrete-piered bridge was designed by Earl H. Shuttleworth and built in 1939. Its sidewalks were widened in the late 1960s.7<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fourth Farm Lane bridge in 1951, view facing south. The brand-new Shaw Hall is at far left, and Farrall Hall (1948) in the distance at right. Between the two are the Dairy Barns of 1929, which stood opposite Shaw Hall until their removal in 1961 for the Planetarium. Note the odd combination of bridge railings in WPA Moderne style surmounted by Michigan State\u2019s classic lantern posts. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In addition to its obvious role as the main north\u2013south traffic corridor through campus, and its significance as the only campus bridge over the Red Cedar River with a road surface above the 100-year floodplain, the bridge also supports numerous pieces of campus infrastructure. Conduits for steam, electrical, communication, sewer and water all cross the river via this bridge. Ever since its completion, it has also been the site of a hydrological gauge that measures and records fluctuations in the river\u2019s depth and flow rate. The original gauge, valued at $250 in 1940 and installed in a special chamber within the bridge designed especially for that purpose, was provided to the College by the U.S. Geological Survey, which continues to operate the station today as one of more than 13,500 nationwide.8<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as each of its predecessors did in their turn, the fourth Farm Lane bridge reached the end of its useful life. An inspection by the Michigan Department of Transportation in 2021 resulted in load limit restrictions and the closure of its east (northbound) traffic lane. The M.S.U. Board of Trustees authorized planning and design work to replace the bridge at its April 2022 meeting, and authorized proceeding with the project in February 2023. Managed by the M.S.U. Department of Infrastructure Planning and Facilities, work commenced in April 2023 and was completed in August 2024.9<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n

  1. Lautner<\/a>, pp. 26\u201327. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  2. Minutes<\/a>, 9\u00a0Apr\u00a01861, pp.\u00a078\u201379; 29\u00a0Aug\u00a01861, p.\u00a083; 13\u00a0Nov\u00a01862, p.\u00a0100. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  3. 2nd\u00a0AR<\/a>, p.\u00a038. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  4. 14th\u00a0AR<\/a>, pp. 58, 61. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  5. Minutes<\/a>, 16\u00a0Aug\u00a01887, p.\u00a0527.\u00a0Beal<\/a>, p.\u00a089.\u00a0Kuhn<\/a>, pp. 104, 154.\u00a0Lautner<\/a>, p.\u00a059. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  6. Kestenbaum<\/a>, p.\u00a0137. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  7. Lautner<\/a>, p.\u00a0142.\u00a0Minutes<\/a>, 17\u00a0Jan\u00a01935, p.\u00a01141; 15\u00a0Dec\u00a01938, p.\u00a01477; 19\u00a0Jan\u00a01939, p.\u00a01487. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  8. Minutes<\/a>, 11\u00a0Mar\u00a01940, p.\u00a01604.\u00a0USGS monitor site<\/a>. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  9. MSU IPF<\/a> \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Farm Lane was established very early in the Michigan Agricultural College\u2019s history, and its name suits its purpose: it was the access road to the college farm south of the river. It was positioned along the centerline of the farm for maximum access to the fields\u2014a line about a quarter-mile east of College Hall, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"[{\"content\":\"Lautner<\/a>, pp. 26\u201327.\",\"id\":\"64f8a521-1883-438e-bc2a-5e1aeea0c89a\"},{\"content\":\"Minutes<\/a>, 9\u00a0Apr\u00a01861, pp.\u00a078\u201379; 29\u00a0Aug\u00a01861, p.\u00a083; 13\u00a0Nov\u00a01862, p.\u00a0100.\",\"id\":\"b828cfb8-d7a8-4565-9506-5498a8fdc93f\"},{\"content\":\"2nd\u00a0AR<\/a>, p.\u00a038.\",\"id\":\"b5f4b7f4-5a25-49e1-a41d-627c8980582e\"},{\"content\":\"14th\u00a0AR<\/a>, pp. 58, 61.\",\"id\":\"e26e4895-f7c7-410e-9768-023a0701f82f\"},{\"content\":\"Minutes<\/a>, 16\u00a0Aug\u00a01887, p.\u00a0527.\u00a0Beal<\/a>, p.\u00a089.\u00a0Kuhn<\/a>, pp. 104, 154.\u00a0Lautner<\/a>, p.\u00a059.\",\"id\":\"57cebb2a-495c-40a5-9ddb-4cf9fb8d5385\"},{\"content\":\"Kestenbaum<\/a>, p.\u00a0137.\",\"id\":\"4408e412-3c9a-4837-b25b-284a9284f8a9\"},{\"content\":\"Lautner<\/a>, p.\u00a0142.\u00a0Minutes<\/a>, 17\u00a0Jan\u00a01935, p.\u00a01141; 15\u00a0Dec\u00a01938, p.\u00a01477; 19\u00a0Jan\u00a01939, p.\u00a01487.\",\"id\":\"d6f48b6f-1d8d-404e-851c-476fa18f85b2\"},{\"content\":\"Minutes<\/a>, 11\u00a0Mar\u00a01940, p.\u00a01604.\u00a0USGS monitor site<\/a>.\",\"id\":\"0271149b-88d1-4e30-8e55-e14004960fc7\"},{\"content\":\"MSU IPF<\/a>\",\"id\":\"e38c7bc4-bf8f-401e-9cc5-a7c95a52da6a\"}]"},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-m-a-c-campus"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5614,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247\/revisions\/5614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}