History

In 1959, the Committee on Appropriations of the U.S. Senate requested the Secretary of Agriculture to report on the scope of research results expected from existing facilities and the feasibility of additional facilities. Results of this study were published in Senate Document 59, 86th Congress, entitled "Facility Needs - Soil and Water Conservation Research." This document sets forth research and facility needs for each region and physiographic area in the United States. The needs included a facility for the Atlantic Coastal Plains, preferably at the Pee Dee Experiment Station, which was operated by the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. The facilities would provide offices, laboratories, greenhouses, and equipment to support a research program to attack the many diverse problems of soil and water management in the southeastern Coastal Plains. In 1961, Congress made funds available for the design and construction, and the Coastal Plains Soil and Water Conservation Research Center was completed in January 1964.