The Barnwarmin’ Dance originated in 1921, through the sponsorship of the Agriculture Club, to serve as a social dedication for the new Agricultural Building later named Morgan Hall. The original intent was to devote about 50 percent of the time to dancing and also to feature other activities such as fortune telling, special music, tricks, and demonstrations.
Invitations to the event became an institutional tradition. Several hundred ears of corn were shelled, and the peth was bored out in the woodworking shop in Estabrook Hall. Printed invitations were rolled and placed in the bored-out cobs. Address tags were then fastened to the cob and stamped for the Postal Service.
The annual event was held during the fall quarter, usually on a Friday night in October before a home football game. A parade, with floats from fraternities and other organizations, was often held, and hay wagons shuttled dance attendees from the Hill to the agriculture campus. In 1923 the Agriculture Club added the election of a queen and first elected Evelyn Wells.
In 1935 the event moved from Agricultural (now Morgan) Hall on the agricultural campus to the Alumni Memorial Building, where round dancing took place on the main gym floor and square dancing took place in one of the large, second-floor gymnasia. In spring 1943 membership in the Agriculture Club declined from about 150 to approximately 20 as men were called to military duty. The Barnwarmin’ and Roundup were suspended for the duration of the war, and Barnwarmin’ did not return.