This study shows how Clemson weaves together the three federal charges of land-grant institutions--teaching (specified in the Land Grant Act of 1862), research (the Hatch Act of 1887), and public service (the Smith-Lever Act of 1914)--into a "high seminary of learning." Clemson students and their lives here are the other major theme of this work. The narrative of this institution traces the people who created it, those who guided it, and the people who lived under its influence and the paths they followed as they left "dear old Clemson."