December 2016, alumni and friends from across the country celebrated the impact Connors State College has made in the agricultural industry with the dedication of the Agriculture Hall of Fame.
Around the time of statehood, eastern Oklahoma was dotted with bustling rural communities and small family farms.
The early years were lean ones. Drought, crop failures, poor roads, and practically nonexistent communication systems all served to isolate eastern Oklahomans from major commerce centers and educational opportunities for citizens past the elementary level.
Oklahoma’s first legislature created six agricultural schools to provide rural farm children secondary education with a farm life emphasis. Connors State School of Agriculture came into existence along with the state in 1907. Section 7, Article 13 of the State Constitution authorized “the establishment and maintenance of secondary agriculture schools in each Supreme Court Judicial District, with branch agricultural experiment stations and short courses in connection therewith.” Named in honor of the State Board of Agriculture president J.P. Connors, the high school was established to serve district one; however, enrollment could come from any part of the state.
