W. C. Stallings, the nation’s first agent for a single county
On November 12, 1906, at a meeting in an opera house near the Smith County Courthouse attended by Dr. Seaman A. Knapp of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, W. C. Stallings of the Dixie community became the first county agent in Texas and the first in the nation to serve only one county.
The 1971 marker says Smith County appointed him; the Handbook of Texas says several Tyler businessmen hired him.
The Handbook credits him with helping farmers recover from the fruit blight by 1910.
Sources
- Handbook of Texas: Smith Countytshaonline.org
On November 12, 1906, several Tyler businessmen hired W. C. Stallings, from the Dixie community, as the first county agent in the nation to supervise a single county.
hired W. C. Stallings, from the Dixie community, as the first county agent in the nation to supervise a single county
Under his guidance, county farmers recovered from the fruit blight by 1910.
- Texas Historical Commission marker: First County Agricultural Extension Agent (Atlas 5423007716)atlas.thc.texas.gov
Smith County that day appointed Wm. C. Stallings (1842-1916) the first county agent in Texas and the first in the nation to serve only one county.
Smith County became the birthplace of the County Agricultural Agent concept. This occurred in an historic meeting Nov. 12, 1906, in an opera house near this site.
Checked October 15, 2026. How the cards are filed