[media-credit name=’AJ MACLEAN/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]University of Wisconsin’s Hiram Smith Hall, 1545 Observatory Dr., built in 1892, has seen its share of changes.

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, Hiram Smith was the first Dairy School in the United States. It was the first piece in the cluster of agriculture buildings near Linden and Elm Drive and was soon followed by the Soils building, the Heating Plant and then Agriculture Hall in 1903.

The building was named after former president of the Wisconsin Dairymen’s Association, Hiram Smith, who happened to be one of the descendents of American revolutionists William Penn, according to the Wisconsin Electronic Reader online.

The hall was used to house the short course cheese and butter making classes in the late 19th century, but today Hiram Smith is home to many different classes — most notably Landscape Architecture labs.

The Queen Anne style building now perches upon a ledge looking over the west end of campus.

“When they started building the Microbial Sciences Building we didn’t think they would be 10 feet outside our door,” UW professor James Steiner said. “Once the building is completed, Hiram Smith will be disconnected from campus.”

According to Landscape and Architecture teaching assistant Cathy Dammann, Hiram Smith Hall was the first Agricultural building built on campus, “contrary to popular belief.”

“The site for Hiram was chosen for its prestigious elevated position,” Landscape Architecture teaching assistant Cathy Dammann said. “With the construction of the Microbial Sciences building, Hiram will be cut off.”

UW sophomore Zach Vieth said his class in Hiram Smith Hall was interrupted several weeks ago while construction was going on outside the building. Some think the building has shifted due to the nearby construction, he added.

“About two or three weeks ago the construction workers came running into lab still wearing their hardhats screaming, ‘Everyone get out now!'” Vieth said. “They were digging next to the building. A lot of the ground had shifted and they thought that the building was going to collapse into the hole.”

According to a digital illustration of the Microbial Sciences Building, Hiram Smith’s steps will sit face to face with the new hall, steps that once led to acres of open land and cornfields.

“I like the history of Hiram Smith,” UW senior Ashley Nemke said. “I don’t have any real sentiments for it because it is so neglected, but it could be a really beautiful building.”

UW has received a cultural landscape grant from Getty Foundation in Los Angeles to look at the evolution of campuses in the United States and strengthen the understanding and preservation of historical buildings.

“The whole point of the Getty grants are a response to buildings like Microbial Sciences,” Dammann said. “It is reasonable that campuses change and grow, but how do you balance the old with the new while still honoring the past? These buildings are important and help retain a sense of uniqueness.”

Hiram Smith, along with many other buildings on campus, is a registered Wisconsin Historic Property with the Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places.

“You can’t stop time,” Dammann said. “Actually Hiram Smith was slated to be bulldozed in 1941 and that hasn’t happened yet either. Hopefully it will stay intact throughout the construction process and still be recognized in the future as an important part of the campus’ early culture.”