History & Culture
Corvallis, a City 150 years young
We want to invite you to celebrate Corvallis’ sesquicentennial in 2007. It has been an exciting 150 years and we’d like to take you on a short historical journey…
The first non-Kalapua settlers arrived in Benton County around 1845. Benton County was established on December 23 in 1847 as the seventh county organized in territorial Oregon. At that time, Benton County’s western border stretched to the Pacific, with its southern border reaching California. The County was named in honor of Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, a strong advocate of free land laws and the first Senator to serve for 30 years in Congress.
One of the first settlers was Joseph C Avery, who arrived in 1845. He settled on the north side of Mary’s River near the confluence of Mary’s River and the Willamette River, the area of Avery Park today. During the winter of 1847-1848, he marked 12 acres of land around his cabin for town lots. In February 1851, Avery platted the town of Marysville on his claim. Another settler, William F. Dixon, platted “Dixon’s addition” to the town on his claim directly north of Avery’s. That same year Marysville was officially named the county seat.
In 1853, to avoid confusion with Marysville, California, where all mail was going, Marysville, Oregon, was renamed Corvallis, “Heart of the Valley.” In 1855, Corvallis became the capital of the Oregon territory. An immediate benefit was the publication of the first newspaper in Corvallis, “The Oregon Statesman.” However, citizens were concerned over Congress’ need to approve a state capital, especially knowing that Congress had already put money into buildings in Salem. In December 1855, the legislature met in a two-story, wood-frame building donated by Avery, on the northwest corner of Second and Adams streets. The objective was to pass one bill, moving the capital to Salem. “The Oregon Statesman” followed.
Located in the navigable headwaters of the Willamette River, Corvallis developed into a regional trading center and a jump off point for the California gold rush. On January 28, 1857, papers were signed incorporating Corvallis into a town, making us 150 years old in January 2007.
Today, Corvallis is a charming, tree-lined city with a population of over 53,000 people, including OSU students. By federal designation we are Oregon’s fifth largest metropolitan statistical area. According to Brier Dudley, who writes for the Seattle Times, "Corvallis is a country place, with a collegiate feel, that's also a high-tech center and a hippie haven." Gary Warner, of the Orange County Register, wrote “If I hit the jackpot tomorrow, I'd quit the rat race and move to Corvallis. You'd find me at the New Morning Bakery with a big mug of coffee and a cinnamon roll, scanning the local real estate listings."
Corvallis is ranked as one of America's Top 25 “family friendly” enclaves. This category, from a book titled “Life 2.0,” describes “family friendly” as designed for families and others in search of that Norman Rockwell hometown feeling. Corvallis is a green city, not only encased by forest but one of only three cities in the nation to meet the EPA's challenge to become a Green Power community. We are the only city on the west coast to receive this award. The Renewable Energy Challenge had called for the city to increase the purchase of renewable energy to 15%.
Three years ago, Men's Journal Magazine voted Corvallis “the 8th best place in the nation to live.” The publisher of the country’s top travel guide, Frommers, wrote: “Each city is ranked on 10 major criteria: Economy & Jobs, Cost of Living, Climate, Education, Health & Healthcare, Crime, Transportation, Leisure, Arts & Culture and overall quality of life. Corvallis ranked 10th of all cities of all sizes in the nation.”
The creativity index of the February 2004 Harvard Business Review placed Corvallis 15th in the nation for creativity. It states, “For a country or a region to achieve growth, it must have three Ts: Technology, Talent and Tolerance.” The National Creativity Index is based on objective measures of these factors.
During 2007 we will be celebrating all that we have become and all we hope to be. Each month we will celebrate a different aspect of what makes Corvallis great!
• JANUARY Business and Government Leadership
• FEBRUARY Diversity
• MARCH Performing Arts
• APRIL Environment, Literary Arts, and Health
• MAY Historic Preservation and Visual Arts
• JUNE Parks and Recreation
• JULY Homecoming and Innovation
• AUGUST Agriculture and Sustainability
• SEPTEMBER Visual Arts
• OCTOBER Education
• NOVEMBER Oregon’s Bounty and Wineries
• DECEMBER Benton County Historical Museum
We believe we are the Pacific Northwest’s most beautiful college town and we owe a lot of our character to our wonderful partnership with Oregon State University.
Being a University town also explains our penchant for collaboration. We are a town built on consensus. Things take a little longer, but our end results is spectacularly worth the wait.
We hope that you will come and visit our city and enjoy a slower pace of life with excellent vistas, great food, wonderful wine and a great lifestyle. See you in 2007!
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