The Penn State University Department of Horticulture grew out of the Farmers High School, founded in 1855 in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Work in Horticulture might properly be said to have begun with the establishment of the Agricultural Experiment Station. The Station was made possible by the passing of the Hatch Act by Congress on March 1, 1887. Between 1887 and 1907, Horticulture led a hybrid existence. For several years prior to 1896, it was listed in the Division of Botany, Forestry, and Horticulture,

which was one of two divisions in the Department of Biology. The other Division was that of Zoology, Entomology, and Physiology. In 1896, the College was organized into several schools. The Department of Horticulture was placed in the School of Agriculture. With the coming of Dean Thomas Hunt in 1907, the School of Agriculture began to undergo a thorough reorganization; in 1908, the Department of Horticulture was separated from Botany and both departments were wholly transferred to the School of Agriculture. From this point, the Department began its modern existence.