DREC Names Room for First Superintendent
November 16, 2010 Mississippi State University’s Delta Research and Extension Center has recently named a conference room in the B.L. Smith Building for H.E. Savely, the first superintendent of the research station.
From December 1904 until early 1906, Savely oversaw establishment of what was known then as the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Experiment Station. Earlier that year Mississippi’s state legislature had authorized the organization of an agricultural experiment station near the village of Stoneville.
“Mr. Savely put in place the foundation that many have built upon over the past one hundred-plus years. Many producers and scientists have benefitted from his visionary leadership,” said Steve Martin, head of DREC.
A 1903 graduate of Mississippi A & M College, Savely’s first undertaking was to improve drainage and prepare the land for planting. When purchased by the State from Bettie J. Skinner and Joshua Skinner, the original two hundred acres were considered to be a worn-out plantation. While at the Station, Savely focused research efforts on cotton variety testing and alfalfa planting. He left his position to become a field man for American Cyanamid.
The Conference Room honors Savely’s foresight and leadership. Today, the Delta Research and Extension Center includes almost 4,300 acres of crop land, fish ponds and wildlife habitat. In 2009, DREC obtained a long-term lease on over two hundred acres of cropland that faces U.S. Highway 82.
Through the years, DREC has become known worldwide for its enviable accomplishments in agricultural research.
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