Levi Stockbridge


Levi Stockbridge was a farmer and scientist from Hadley, Massachusetts. He was instrumental in the early history of the Massachusetts Agricultural College now known as the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Biography

Stockbridge held the following positions with the college:
  • Farm Superintendent: 1867-1869
  • Professor: 1867-1879
  • Acting President: 1876
  • Fifth President: 1880-1882
He held patents for pioneering experiments in: fertilizer development, nutrient leaching and soil mulching. In 1876 he published Experiments in Feeding Plants. Stockbridge served three terms in the Massachusetts State Legislature, 12 years on the state board of agriculture and for 32 years was a state cattle commissioner. In 1880 he ran for Congress on the Labor-Greenback Party ticket and lost.
The Boltwood-Stockbridge House in Amherst, Massachusetts, is probably the first house built in Amherst and is certainly the oldest remaining and was originally built as the home of Samuel Boltwood. Eventually the Boltwood house and the farm surrounding the house became part of the Mass Agricultural College. Henry Flagg French, first president of MAC, resided there until he resigned in 1867, after which Stockbridge made the house his residence and office. Stockbridge Hall, built in 1915 to house the Department of Agriculture, and the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst also bear his name.
The town of Stockbridge, Georgia, is also named after him.

Selected works

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