Agusan Del Sur State College of Agriculture and Technology - History 1906 To 1926

History 1906 To 1926

In 1906, a group of Americans headed by the Honorable Dean C. Worcester visited Agusan province, surveyed the area and determined the needs of the people. The province of Agusan was populated by Manobos and few Christians. Realizing the need for educating the people to a better way of life, the Americans established the Manobo Industrial School (MIS) in June 1908. The school was for the sons of Manobo “datus” from the regions of Simulao, Adgawan, Umayam, Gibung, and Wawa-Ojot. Mr. Carlson Berger was the principal, with Mr. And Mrs. Joseph Kempt, Mr. Liberato Fortun, and Mr. Ciriaco Viajar as his faculty.

MIS was located along the bank of the Simulao River, opposite the poblacion of Bunawan. On June 24, 1908, Executive Order No. 52 was issued by the Governor- General William Cameron Forbes and granted the school site with a reserved area of 41.9089 hectares (Parcel 1) and .1764 hectares (Parcel 2).

Later, the Manobo Industrial School was converted into Manobo Farm School (MFS) to improve the farming practices of the natives. A Grade V class was opened in school year 1915 – 1916 with Mr. Ellsworth Maxwell as Principal. The other teachers were Mr. George L. Broxholm, Mr. Cornelio del Rosario, and Miss Dedicacion del Rosario. A limited number of boys coming from the municipal district schools of Cuevas, Trento, Libertad, Veruela, La Paz, Loreto, Prosperidad, Talacogon, San Luis, Esperanza and Lianga, Surigao were accommodated in the school dormitory with free clothing, beddings, and subsistence. The other pupils lived in Bunawan with their parents or relatives.