The act to create the university was signed by Colorado
Territory governor Edward
McCook in 1870 arising from the Morrill
Act. During the first years of its official existence, the university existed only a paper. A board of 12 trustees was formed
to "purchase and manage property, erect buildings, establish basic rules for governing the institutions and employ buildings."
But the near complete lack of funding by the territorial legislature for this mission severely hampered progress.The first 30 acre (120,000 m²) parcel of land for the campus was deeded in 1871 by Robert Dazell. In 1872, the Larimer County Land
Improvement Company contributed a second 80 acre (320,000 m²) parcel. The first $1000 to erect buildings was finally allocated by
the territorial legislature in 1874. The funds were not sufficient, however, and trustees
were required to find a matching amount, which they eventually obtained from local citizens and businesses.Among the institutions which donated matching funds was the local Grange, which was heavily involved in the early establishment of the university. As part of this effort, in
the spring of 1874 Grange No. 7 held a picnic and planting event at the corner of College
Avenue and West Laurel Street, and later plowed and seeded 20 acres (80,000 m²) of wheat
on a nearby field. Within several months, the university's first building, a 16-foot-by-24-foot red brick building nicknamed the
"Claim Shanty" was finished, providing the first tangible presence of the institution in Fort Collins.After Colorado statehood in 1876, the
territorial law establishing the university was required to be reauthorized. In 1877, the
state
legislature created the 8-member State Board of Agriculture to govern the school. The legislature also authorized
a railroad right-of-way across the campus, and mill levy to raise money for construction of the campus' first main building, Old Main, which was completed in
December 1878. Despite wall cracks and other structural problems during the first year, the
building was opened in time for the welcoming of the first five students on September 1, 1879 by university president Elijah Evan Edwards.The university has operated under four different names:
- 1879: Agricultural College of Colorado
- 1935: Colorado College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts
- 1944: Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College (Colorado A&M)
- 1957: Colorado State University