The department initiated an experimental farm in Taputimu; however, the project saw limited success due to inexperienced management.

[6] In the early 1930s, Samoan craftsmen built traditional fales on an oval-shaped plot at Taputimu, situated close to the ocean.

The Taputimu school was designed to accommodate only 18 boys, who were selected by the Governor based on recommendations from the matai, with an aim to include representatives from all counties whenever possible.

The curriculum offered a blend of Samoan history, culture, and arts, alongside English language studies, Western legal principles, concepts of private property and personal rights, as well as lessons on the government, history, geography, and social structures of Europe and the United States.

When it commenced operations in September 1935, it marked the first instance of private philanthropy in American Sāmoa, aside from the Red Cross, and quickly proved its value.