Alabama 4-H and Youth Development is celebrating its 100th Anniversary!
We invite you to join in the fun, share with us your favorite 4-H memory, learn about Alabama 4-H’s rich history and celebrate with us as we move into the future.
Youth have always been and will continue to be Alabama’s future. How we strive to develop and encourage hard work and dedication in our youth will determine the leaders and citizens of the future, not only for Alabama, but for the nation and the world.
Alabama’s 4-H Centennial celebration was established to honor our past and secure our future. We hope that you will join us in these two goals by participating in a local, county or statewide activity, consider mentoring a 4-H member by becoming a volunteer and supporting the efforts of the more than 58,000 Alabama 4-Hers.
OUR HISTORY
4-H in Alabama began in 1908 with boy’s corn clubs in Calhoun and Tuscaloosa counties and, three years later, girl’s tomato canning clubs.
Youth programs in Alabama can be traced back to the early 1900s boll weevil crop devastation. Seaman Knapp, who would later serve as president of Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) came to Alabama in 1902. He began work as a U.S. Department of Agriculture farm agent, demonstrating improved agriculture methods around the South. By 1904, Knapp was studying the work of legendary scientists Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver.
In 1906, Thomas M. Campbell was appointed the first Alabama-based extension agent. He was hired by the USDA Office of Cooperative Demonstration to assist black farmers, and used the Jesup Wagon, a movable school of agriculture, to spread the knowledge of better farming and home life to Alabama farmers.
Agents quickly learned that adults were resistant to changes in farming practices, but children were more eager. The idea of teaching children, who in turn teach others, was born and is still in existence today as 4-H.
To learn more about the history of Alabama 4-H, click here.
ALABAMA 4-H TODAY
More than 58,000 Alabama youth statewide participate in a variety of educational programs to learn belonging, independence, generosity and mastery. The focus of 4-H is using educational programs to encourage youth to become productive citizens with positive character and leadership skills.
The mission of 4-H is to serve all youth, especially those in urban and rural areas who are at a disadvantage because of life’s circumstances. At the heart of Alabama 4-H’s curricula is the belief that programs must instill life-development skills. No matter the subject, 4-H instructs youth in character values needed to be productive citizens. Alabama 4-H also teaches leadership skills through its commitment to positive youth development.
To learn more about Alabama 4-H, click here.
