In 1872, with federal funds provided by the Morrill Act of 1862, the Virginia General Assembly purchased the facilities of Preston and Olin Institute, a small Methodist school in Southwest Virginia 's rural Montgomery County. That same year, 250 acres (100 ha) of the Solitude Farm including the house and several farm buildings on the estate were acquired for $21,250 The commonwealth incorporated a new institution on the site, a state - supported land - grant military institute named Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College.
who owned the original lands that virginia tech is built on
Preston and Olin Institute, a small Methodist school in Southwest Virginia 's rural Montgomery County 250 acres (100 ha) of the Solitude Farm including the house and several farm buildings