The History of the H.B. Farmer Education Building at Arizona State University
Arizona State University (ASU) boasts a rich history intertwined with the development of Tempe, Arizona. From its origins as the Tempe Normal School to its current status as a world-renowned university, ASU's campus reflects the evolution of education and the community it serves. Among the many buildings that contribute to ASU's architectural landscape, the H.B. Farmer Education Building stands as a testament to the university's commitment to education and its historical roots.
The Legacy of Hiram Bradford Farmer
The Farmer Education Building is named in honor of Hiram Bradford Farmer, a pivotal figure in the early days of the institution. Farmer served as the first principal and sole instructor of the Tempe Normal School, which was founded in 1885. In February 1886, the school officially opened its doors in a single building. During the first 16-week teaching program, Farmer oversaw 33 students, comprised of 20 women and 13 men, while also handling the maintenance of the small campus.
Farmer's dedication extended beyond instruction. Unofficially, the building served as the first dormitory, with Mrs. Farmer accepting women students as boarders. This commitment to providing a nurturing environment for students laid the foundation for ASU's future growth.
Architectural Context and Design
The Farmer Education Building emerged as part of the construction boom that followed Arizona State's attainment of university status in 1958. Designed by Edward L. Varney Associates, the building was constructed between 1960 and 1961. The Farmer Education Building was designed and built concurrently with Ralph Haver’s Social Sciences Building. The two are conceptual twins, featuring classroom and office spaces organized around a central atrium. Encompassing 95,578 square feet, the building is completely modular, featuring a precast concrete panelized skin with integral sunscreens.
The Center for Indian Education
The Farmer Education Building housed the Center for Indian Education (CIE) before it was relocated to the Payne Education Building in 2010. CIE emerged within a context of federal sentiment for termination, increased urbanization, and a heightened need for improvements in Indian education. The state and local context of Arizona Indian affairs also played a crucial role in the Center’s origins. Nearly a quarter of the land in Arizona is tribally controlled and the state has one of the country’s largest Native populations. Additionally, during the 1950s a significant number of Native people had moved to the Phoenix area in search of employment. These demographic realities alone demanded that policy makers address the needs of Native students in public schools.
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In 1957 and 1958, Irving W. Stout, Dean of the Graduate College, and G.D. McGrath, Dean of the College of Education, argued that ASU was a perfect place to establish an Indian Education center. McGrath and Stout also believed that ASU could contribute a valuable scholarly perspective to Indian affairs. By combining research with community outreach, the Center could establish partnerships between the University and Indian communities in the state. Such relationships would serve as a prototype for centers and communities across the country. Additionally, the academic thrust might improve statewide public policy and curriculum development. Stout and McGrath also believed the Center could train Native and non-Native students in Indian education with a series of classes, programs, and practical teaching experiences. Finally, they wanted the Center to reach out to Indian communities in the Southwest and assist with education efforts, economic development, health care, and leadership. These goals promised to make the Center unique in the field of Indian affairs and American higher education.
Also in 1960, the first annual Indian Education Conference was held, providing a forum for tribal leaders and educators to discuss Indian education concerns. And the center was engaged with students on campus: Drs. Stout and Roessel mentored ASU's Indian student organization Dawa Chindi ("Dawa," a Hopi word for "sun," and "Chindi," a Navajo word for "devil").
In 1966, at the request of the Navajo Nation, CIE assisted in establishing Rough Rock Demonstration School on the Navajo reservation in northern Arizona. From 1967 to 1971, CIE sponsored an All-Indian Upward Bound Project. Also in 1967, a program of advisement, tutoring, and counseling was originated for Indian students attending ASU.
During the 1970s, CIE was involved in numerous Indian education projects, including special instructional programs, research workshops, education institutes, demonstration schools, orientation programs, preparing and developing training manuals for schools, and conducting tours of nearby urban and reservation schools.
In 1980, the Indian education courses coordinated by CIE were moved from the Special Education Department to the Elementary Education Department, although the research and service functions continued to report directly to the Dean of the College of Education. The academic program in Indian education included 12 courses.
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In 2009, the Center celebrated its 50th year. With the retirement of CIE director David Beaulieu that same year, Drs. Bryan Brayboy and Teresa McCarty were appointed co-directors of the Center for Indian Education. It remains one of the world’s premier organizations for service to Indigenous communities and contributions to research and practice in American Indian/Alaska Native education.
In 2010, when FIGSE was disestablished in response to cuts in the university budget, the Center and its current co-directors relocated to the School of Social Transformation in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (the college also houses ASU's American Indian Studies Program), and moved its physical location from the Farmer Education Building to the Payne Education Building.
Other Notable Buildings at ASU
ASU's campus is home to a variety of architecturally significant buildings, each with its own unique history and purpose. Some of the other notable buildings include:
Gammage Auditorium: Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Gammage Auditorium is the lone National Register-listed building from the postwar era.
Dixie Gammage Hall: This former dormitory was named after Dixie Gammage, who was married to ASU's 9th President Grady Gammage.
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Danforth Chapel: This cozy place of worship is snuggled between the Memorial Union and Hayden Library. According to ASU, the chapel was built by a man named William Danforth, a wealthy businessman who established the philanthropical organization, the Danforth Foundation. Part of its mission was to build chapels on college campuses.
Lattie F. Coor Hall: This building on Forest Mall provides space for classrooms, research, survey research and computer labs for students and faculty. According to ASU's virtual Tempe campus tour, the building was named after ASU's 15th President, Lattie F. Coor.
Murdock Hall: This lecture hall is located on Orange Street in Tempe. Murdock Hall contains two lecture halls, and one of the largest lecture halls on campus. The building is named after former teacher and dean John R.
A.J. Matthews Center: Now home to ASU Student Media, The State Press and ASU's Disability Resource Center, the A.J. Matthews Center, constructed in 1930, was the first library on campus.
Lyceum Theatre: This theatre was originally built in 1917 as ASU's central heating plant, its boiler room.
Nelson Fine Arts Center: The fine arts center, designed by New Mexican architect Antoine Predock, was built in 1989 and was named after former ASU President J.
Virginia G. Piper Writers House: This house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is home to ASU's Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. According to ASU, the cottage was constructed in 1907 and was used as the university president's home until 1959.
Payne Hall: Payne Hall is the second home of the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.
Tempe Normal School: The Early Years
Tempe Normal School (now Arizona State University) is a square mile campus bordered by University Dr. and Apache Blvd. to the north and south, and Mill Ave. and Rural Rd. to the east and west. What is known today to be ASU has a long history dating back to before this area was even know as Tempe.
Charles Trumbull Hayden, a famous entrepreneur who made his money as a merchant in Tucson, was travelling through the Valley on his way to Prescott when the Salt River flooded. He climbed the butte, which is now known as Tempe Butte or “A” Mountain and realized that if the Native Americans and Mexicans could live there, he could start a thriving town on the river. In December 1870, Hayden built a flourmill and a lot of other infrastructure in the bustling town later named as Hayden’s Ferry, often with Mexican immigrants doing most of the manual labor.
As the city grew, the Mexican community who had been living as farmers and ranchers on the land for many years before Hayden arrived became increasingly unsettled with the way the city was developing. Although they were promised certain lands and property for the work they did, they were never granted them and decided to form their own community. According to historian Marsha Weisiger, “[The Mexicans of San Pablo] learned that their title to the land which they had developed was not recognized and that the land was designated as a school section.” The Mexicans moved to 80 acres on the east side of the butte and lived in a separate town known as San Pablo.
Across the street from San Pablo, five acres were donated to build the Territorial Normal School after House Bill 154 passed with the 13th Legislature on March 12, 1885. The school was established as an institution to instruct teachers on how to teach the norms of society to their students, as well as agricultural and mechanical skills. It officially opened its one building on February 8th, 1886 and its teaching program ran for 16 weeks. Hiram B. Farmer, who would later have his name on one of the education buildings at ASU, was the only faculty and the first enrollment had 33 students, 20 women and 13 men. Farmer also took care of the maintenance around the small campus. The first class graduated in 1887.
The Normal School had training schools throughout the town; one 4th grade, one 3rd grade, one 2nd grade, and two 1st grade classes with about 12 students each. When the grammar school was built on 10th and Mill in 1914, the elementary school on 8th became one for primarily the Mexican children from San Pablo. The white teachers and citizens of Tempe believed that this segregation, along with more teachers per class and special attention was better for the Mexican American students and would keep them in school.
The Eighth Street School gained statewide notoriety as a result of a 1925 lawsuit, Romo v. Laird, which challenged an agreement between Tempe Elementary School District No. 3 and Tempe Normal School to operate the school as a “Mexican training school” for Mexican American children. While Mexican American parents won the right to send their children to Tempe’s nearby “American” public school, Tempe Normal School and the district also secured the right under “separate but equal” laws to continue operating the segregated training school and its “Americanization” curriculum until its closure in 1945.
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