The history of the University of Connecticut can be traced to the Storrs Agricultural School, which opened on this site in 1881 in the former Connecticut Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home. Later known as Old Whitney, the fifty-room wooden structure housed classrooms, student and faculty living quarters, and administrative offices. It was razed in 1932, and all that remains of UConn’s original educational building is a stone step that lies in the exact location where it was originally set in 1866. Behind the step is the grave of Jonathan I. In the fall of 1934, students selected the Husky as their mascot, and the dog, an alumni gift, arrived on campus in December. Less than two months later, the animal was struck by an automobile and was buried on February 19, 1935.