The author presents a sweeping, well-documented review of what was the first Department of Rural Sociology in the nation (now called the Department of Development Sociology). In it, the author identifies the evolving intellectual thrusts and connects these with the 63 faculty who served in the Department’s second 50 years. Augmented with a number of prior histories, this work was conducted as part of the Department’s 100th anniversary recognition. This history references more than 1,100 different books, journal articles, and other publications; more than 200 news and media articles; and it contains over 350 photos and images. As the author wrote: “May it capture the essence and some of the major changes in the Department’s lifespan, and may it chart at least some of the landscape on which its ensuing years are built.” A video record of the Development Sociology Centennial Symposium (September 2015) is available at: https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/43773