Experience Magazine

12-13 / 24

SPRING 2016 SPRING 2016 12 13
As most Clemson University faculty, staff
and students already know, a new footprint
of residence halls are being constructed for
students called Douthit Hills. The legacy of
Douthit Hills begins with Joseph Benjamin
Douthit Jr. A man who had a huge interest
in agriculture and developed life-changing
strategies in making farming practices
more simplified and effective.
J. B. Douthit Jr., born in 1893 in South
Carolina, helped enrich Clemson’s agricultural
history. As the child of a farmer, Douthit Jr.
was bound to find a passion in agriculture. He
owned a large Anderson County farm between
the Simpson property and Lebanon Road, more
commonly known as Sandy Springs. This farm
eventually became a major part of the Simpson
Experiment Farm, a farm that is now
a Clemson Experiment Station.
Many have described Douthit Jr. to be a
rambunctious young man growing up,
constantly experimenting with his dad’s farm.
Articles found in Clemson’s Special Collections
state, “What good was a Clemson College
diploma if [sic] (Douthit Jr.) tried such stunts
as tiling an open ditch?” The article goes on
to explain one of J. B. Douthit Jr.’s first
successful agricultural planning experiments,
the tiled ditch.
Growing tired of pulling weeds everyday that
grew overnight on the drainage ditch, Douthit
Jr. “meticulously laid the tile on the floor of
the drainage ditch.” This was around 1914.
Using the agricultural skills he learned at
Clemson, Douthit Jr. introduced irrigation to
this district. He believed the rainwater would
keep his basin filled with water for irrigation
lines, so he built a dam in a gullied spot near
his crop field. This resulted in a reduction
in water runoff in the basin.
Douthit continued to be active in regional and
national conservation movements, which gave
more emphasis to research, education and the
history of the conservation movement.
Joseph Benjamin Douthit Jr. died in 1972. He
is still remembered by his living relatives, and
the Clemson community will never forget how
important his legacy is to Clemson’s agricultural
history. This is especially portrayed through the
naming of Douthit Hills.
Even now, placing tile in a ditch still serves
its specific purpose. J. B. Douthit Jr. soon
became Anderson County’s primary soil
conservation supporter and was the oldest soil
conservationist district supervisor in service
of the United States.
Also in 1914, Douthit Jr. graduated from
Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science
in agriculture. He had a Clemson-learned
passion for soil conservation and a drive for
innovation. In his twenties, he had to discover
new strategies for making money. Douthit Jr.
described this as a turning point in his career as
a farmer. Rather than give his purebred swine
to the market at a loss, he started a sausage
company and sold the meat door-to-door
on his bicycle.
On March 1, 1917, he married Mary Broyles.
In time, they had a daughter named Rebecca
Douthit. She later married and became known
as Rebecca Slone. In the subsequent years
he transformed his farm from cotton into
cattle and differentiated his crops, growing a
reputation for the worthy quality of his
corn seed.
Douthit Jr.’s contributions to Clemson didn’t
stop with his own time as a student. On March
27, 1936, the general assembly elected him to
Clemson’s Board of Trustees, which he served on
until Jan. 25, 1956. In 1937, Douthit Jr. was also
named as the supervisor of the Upper Savannah
Soil Conservation District. This included
Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties.
J. B. DOUTHIT JR.