Talk:Biltmore Forest School

Disputed claim
Cornell University claims that the New York State College of Forestry at Cornell was the first forestry college in North America.DA Sonnenfeld (talk) 20:57, 30 October 2009 (UTC)


 * Related to this, there are two different dates for the founding of Biltmore Forest School in the entry: 1898, in the body of the article; and 1885, in the box. Which is correct? Article needs fact checking, documentation. Resolution of the dispute may come down to which day in 1898 the school was founded, if that indeed was the year.DA Sonnenfeld (talk) 21:08, 30 October 2009 (UTC)


 * A third school, the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, founded in 1900, also claims the title of "oldest forestry school in the United States".DA Sonnenfeld (talk) 11:00, 7 February 2010 (UTC)


 * RESOLVED: I am now fairly convinced that, indeed, the Biltmore Forest School was the first school of forestry in the United States, at least by a few weeks. The New York State College of Forestry at Cornell University, opening right on the heels of the Biltmore School, can claim to be the first forestry college, or first professional forestry school. Yale can claim to have had the first postgraduate forestry program in the United States, or to be the "oldest, continually operating" school of forestry in the US. DA Sonnenfeld (talk) 01:17, 16 February 2010 (UTC)
 * In updating both this article and Carl Schenck, and adding an article for Frederick E. Olmsted, I ran into credible sources from back in the day that called Biltmore Forest School the first forestry school in America. There was no dispute to this claim at the time. In addition, I discovered that BFS actually started in 1896. Olmsted was in that group of students who attended 1896-97; in 1897-98 he was at Harvard. Also found a quote from Schenck who said there was never an official start date and that 1898 was just the year that he first bothered to create a catalog. Note sure why this has been missed by so many over the years, but the 1896 and 1897 students are listed in the BFS alumni reunion materials.
 * With regards to Cornell's claim: words matter. Note that Cornell is saying the "first forestry college." They can say that because Biltmore Forest School was not a college. They could also claim to be the longest operating forestry school. LOL Rublamb (talk) 21:38, 14 May 2022 (UTC)