The University of Idaho Board of Regents established the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Idaho in 1892 following the passage of the federal Hatch Act (1887), which allowed the creation of agricultural experiment stations at state land-grant colleges. In addition to stimulating agricultural research, the act required the publishing of bulletins or reports of progress on station research and allocated $15,000 per year for conducting investigations and experiments and printing and distributing the results.

The University of Idaho College of Agriculture began establishing an Extension program in southern Idaho in 1910. In 1914, the federal Smith-Lever Act authorized cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics between the state land-grant institutions and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Extension's role was to diffuse practical research-based information to people not attending college through instruction and practical demonstrations. Over the years, Extension's mandate grew to include gardening, natural resources, youth development, and community development.

The first Boys' and Girls' Clubs were officially organized in Idaho schools in the 1911-1912 school year. By the end of the first year there were thirty potato clubs and nineteen sewing clubs, with a total enrollment of 570 members. The movement gained new stimulus with the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which established the Cooperative Extension Service jointly among the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state land-grant universities, and the counties. The Boys' and Girls' Clubs were transferred to the Extension Service from the Dept. of Public Instruction at this time. The modern 4-H clubs are an integral part of this cooperative extension work.

Although the Boys' and Girls' Clubs were the same as the 4-H Club of today, it was usually not referred to by that name. The four-leaf clover was used as an emblem, and reference was made to the four Hs: head, heart, hands, and health. In the mid-1920s the clubs gradually took up the name Boys' and Girls' Four-H Clubs, but it was not until 1948 that Congress authorized the use of the 4-H name and emblem.

The first 4-H shortcourse was held on the University of Idaho campus in 1923. Classes taught by Extension personnel occupied the morning, while the afternoon was taken up with recreational activities and field trips. This shortcourse, now called the 4-H Congress, is still held at the U of I campus each summer.

Congressional support for 4-H is evidenced by the 1970 funding of the 4-H expanded Food and Nutrition Education Programs for low income city youth, as well as 1973 appropriations for 4-H urban and community development programs. Two non-governmental organizations, the National 4-H Service Committee and the National 4-H Foundation, coordinate private support to 4-H nationally and assist in carrying out various programs for 4-H youth.

The national headquarters for 4-H is in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. State headquarters are at each state land-grant university. Each state has a state leader and a youth development staff administered by the state director of extension. Work in the counties is directed and supervised by county Extension agents. Volunteer local leaders are the backbone of 4-H and assist agents by providing direct leadership and educational support to youth in the local neighborhoods and communities.

Today's 4-H program is for all youth, urban as well as rural. A variety of methods are now used to reach youth through 4-H: membership in the traditional 4-H clubs, participation in special interest groups, enrollment in short-term projects, 4-H educational TV, and special 4-H nutritional programs for low income city youth. Over the years the objective of 4-H has remained the same: the development of youth as individuals and as responsible and productive citizens.