Texas Tech University Dairy Barn

The Dairy Barn at Texas Tech University was completed in 1927 and was built to house the cows used by the Animal Husbandry Department. The barn and adjacent silo were designed by the architectural and engineering firm of Sanguinet, Staats & Hedrick. Principal architect Wyatt Hedrick designed an Arts and Crafts bungalow barn, a style that differed from the central campus Spanish Renaissance Revival architecture. Two agricultural instructors, Dr. A.H. Leidigh and W.L. Stangel, were instrumental in the planning stages, suggesting that the barn should appeal to the sensibilities of farmers. The El Paso firm of Ramey Bros. was awarded the contract in July 1925 to build the dairy barn complex.
The barn closely followed standard dairy farming configuration and was constructed with hollow-tile walls plastered with gray stucco, wood windows, doors and exposed rafter ends. The free-standing silo was constructed from cast concrete and features a conical roof. The plans for the two-wing barn included a milk house, sun room, milking and feeding room, calf stalls, boiler room, feed mixing room and an office.

By 1930, the dairy produced enough milk, butter and ice cream for the college cafeteria and private customers. Students who kept their cows at the dairy reduced their tuition through the sale of the dairy’s products. The barn was damaged in a fire on January 29, 1930, but was repaired and remained in use until 1966 when the Dairy Manufacturing Department vacated the building. Soon after, the milk house and sun room wings were demolished to make way for the Foreign Language Building.

The Texas Tech Dairy Barn is also on the National Register of Historic Places.