Purdue traces its roots to the signing of the Morrill Act by President Lincoln on July 2, 1862. Three years later, the General Assembly of Indiana voted to take advantage of public lands available under this act to support colleges to teach agriculture and the "mechanic arts." John Purdue donated land and money for Purdue in 1869. Six instructors taught 39 students when school opened on September 16, 1874. The first president, Richard Owen, worked out the University's structure. The first graduating class had 14 students. Enrollment now comprises nearly 38,000 students on the West Lafayette campus and 21,000 on the regional campuses. Originally, Purdue had only six buildings. Today, the West Lafayette campus contains more than 158 major buildings on 1,579 acres. In addition, nearly 15,000 acres in the state are under university control and are used for agricultural research. Diversified research is conducted in some 400 labs. There are more than 12,000 faculty and staff on the West Lafayette campus. Purdue's yearbook, The Debris, was first published in 1887 and Purdue's newspaper, The Exponent, was first published in 1889.

Purdue Seal

Purdue Presidents

Board of Trustees

Boilermakers

Boilermaker Special

Purdue Colors

John Purdue's Grave

University Hall

Purdue Memorial Union

Great Hall

Memorial Gym

Elliott Hall of Music

Lion Fountain

Loeb Fountain

Engineering Fountain

Bell Tower

Old Pump

Smoking Fence

Centennial Marker

Spirit of the Land Grant College

Purdue Seal
In March 1968, Al Gowen presented the fifth seal to be used by the University. The seal features a griffin, the mythological beast with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion, behind a shield and the words "Purdue University." The griffin is a symbol of strength from medieval heraldry. The three-part shield represents the mission of Purdue University: discovery, learning, and engagement.

Board of Trustees
A 10-member board governs the university. This board decides major policies, budgets, and makes appointments, including that of the university president. Seven members, including one student, are appointed directly by the Governor of Indiana, while the Purdue Alumni Association elects the other three.

Boilermakers
The traditional story: In 1889 two new football coaches, discouraged by the scrawny volunteers for football, hired several husky boilermakers from the Monon railroad, as well as a few burly policemen. After being enrolled in one course, these men set out to play football and won game after game. Incensed Crawfordsville newspaper writers wrote uncomplimentary stories, calling the team "Sluggers, Cornfield Sailors, Haymakers, and Boilermakers." The last name struck the fancy of Purdue students and has been the nickname ever since.

Boilermaker Special
The Boilermaker Special train is the official mascot of Purdue and is kept in the custody of the Purdue Reamer Club. It is used to announce current campus events. The idea for the Special began with an article in the Exponent by Isreal Silkowitz. The completed Special was presented on September 11, 1940. The number on the headlamp, 074041, is composed of important dates. The 07 is the year that Doc Anderson and W.H. Winterrowd helped to construct the body for the Special. The 40 and 41 represent the members of those classes and the Reamer Club members who dedicated their time, energy, and money. Since then, there have been three other Specials. The fifth Boilermaker Special was completed in the fall of 1993. A smaller version of the Boilermaker Special, built on the chassis of a golf cart, is called the "Boilermaker X-tra Special."

Purdue Colors
The Purdue colors, Old Gold and Black, were adopted in 1887, the first year of Purdue football. It was decided that colors were needed to achieve distinction, and it was the captain of the football team that year who proposed the colors.

John Purdue's Grave
John Purdue, who gave $150,000 for the founding of Purdue University, asked that he be buried on the campus after his death. Consenting to his wish, the university interned his remains in a grave just east of University Hall where he is today. One piece of folklore says that Indiana University and/or Purdue University students once dug him up and took him to an Old Oaken Bucket game.

University Hall
Built in 1876, University Hall is the oldest building on campus. John Purdue initiated construction of the building, although he did not live to see its completion. It was first used three years after the start of classes at Purdue and, in its early days, it housed the President's offices, the library, and a chapel. It was remodeled and renovated in the early 1960's. It now contains offices and classrooms for the departments of Political Science and History.

Purdue Memorial Union
In 1912, a $5 assessment was made of each member of the senior class for the purpose of securing a home for student, alumni and faculty activities. George Hays was responsible for the initial effort. Before World War I broke out, $17,000 had been collected. On November 16, 1918, O.H. Booner, an alumnus, suggested the erection of the Union building in honor of the Purdue students who had participated in the Great War. A subscription plan was started in 1919 for this purpose. Construction began in 1922 and the building was ready for partial use by September 1924. Estimated present worth of the building and equipment exceeds $6 million.

Great Hall
The Great Hall is located in the center front of the Union. Sixty-seven students were killed in World War I and are commemorated by the cross on the floor of the Great Hall. In respect for those students, no one is to step on the cross of the Great Hall.

Felix Haas Hall (Memorial Gym)
On October 31, 1903, thirteen Boilermaker football players and four fans were killed in a train collision outside of Indianapolis while on their way to an IU-Purdue football game . The Memorial Gym was built and dedicated in 1909 as a tribute to these individuals. Indiana University donated the money from the advance ticket sales for the game as a gesture of friendship, and also played a benefit game with Notre Dame to raise money for the gym. It is traditional to bare one's head before entering the building, in memory of those to whom the gym is dedicated.

Elliott Hall of Music
Elliott Hall of Music, completed in 1940, was designed by Walter Scholer, longtime Lafayette architect and consultant for Purdue University. J. Andre Fouilhoux, designer of New York's Radio City Music Hall, served as the consulting architect and the two buildings show striking similarity in design. Both use an art deco motif, feature wide staircases ascending to the auditorium, use cantilevered balconies, and contain wide, mammoth main floors. John Johnson, a Frankfort, Indiana artist created the impressive sculptures that grace the sides of the building. The three figures represent music, drama, and forensics, the main activities for which the building was built. The building remains one of the largest proscenium auditoriums in the country. It seats 6,500 people.

Lion Fountain
The Class of 1903 donated the "Lion Fountain" Memorial to the university as a drinking fountain. It was completed in the fall of 1904. The fountain was turned off and the drains plugged when the statue was relocated for the construction of Stanley Coulter Annex somewhere between 1923 and 1931. Due to funds raised by the Reamer Club, water connections to the fountain were restored in 2001.

Loeb Fountain
The Loeb Fountain was originally located on the Purdue Mall in front of Hovde Hall. It was built in the summer of 1959 to honor Solomen Loeb, a local merchant, with money donated by Bert and June Loeb. It is made of granite with 53 red, yellow, and blue lights in three circles. In recent years the fountain was relocated to a plaza near Beering Hall.

Engineering Fountain
The Engineering Fountain is located in the Purdue Mall, informally known as the Engineering Mall, in front of Hovde Hall. It was sculpted by Robert Youngman and completed in 1989 with money donated by the Class of 1939. It was dedicated during Homecoming of 1989.

Bell Tower
Purdue's Bell Tower was built with donations from the Class of 1948. The bells that now hang in a cluster in the center of the tower are the original bells (provided by the class of 1895) that hung in the old Heavilon Hall before it was destroyed in a fire. They sound at various intervals during the day to signal class changes, and play music at 12:20 and 5:00 pm. The Bell Tower was dedicated at Homecoming on October 14, 1995, and now stands as a guiding landmark on campus.

Old Pump
Originally used by farmers during the 1860's, the Old Pump, now located at the southeast corner of Stone Hall, is a campus landmark. According to tradition, the pump was used by early Purdue students as a campus meeting place. The hours for Purdue's women to be in the ladies residence halls were very early in the evening, but the co-eds were allowed to go out after hours for water from the pump, which was located between the men's and women's halls. The men of Purdue often used this opportunity to meet with their sweethearts. Today the pump symbolizes romance, friendship, and the spirit of Purdue.

Smoking Fence
The iron rail fence along Grant Street was a stretch along which students would congregate for a smoke during the old days when smoking was forbidden on campus. They would lean over the fence and while "off-campus" smoke without breaking the rules.

Centennial Marker
The Purdue Centennial Marker is located in front of the Materials Science and Electrical Engineering Building along Northwestern Avenue. It was dedicated in 1969 during the Purdue Centennial Celebration and displays Purdue's crest, which was specifically designed for the centennial. Beneath this marker a sealed copper box, containing Purdue artifacts from 1969 (including a letter from then-President Hovde to Purdue's president in 2069), is buried under nearly a foot of concrete.

Spirit of the Land Grant College
This mural, located in the west lobby of Stewart Center, was painted by Eugene Stewart. In the painting, which symbolizes a dramatic moment in the history of Purdue University, President Lincoln signs the Morrill Act. The golden rays of the sun lead into the areas of education upon which Purdue focuses, and the far right represents the wealth and power that Purdue graduates will attain.