Founded by the New York legislature in 1880 and opened in Geneva in 1882, the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station became a lasting center for agricultural research as farming in the state faced pests, disease, drought, soil exhaustion, and labor loss. Guided early by E. Lewis Sturtevant, it emphasized scientific investigation over model farming and expanded from dairy and crop testing into horticulture, plant pathology, entomology, and other fields. Incorporated into Cornell University in 1923, it evolved into a major horticultural institute whose apple breeding, fruit studies, vineyards, orchards, greenhouses, and federal seed resources work have strongly shaped New York agriculture.