Welcome to Corvallis and Albany and Linn/Benton Counties
Home of Oregon State University and beaver pride, Corvallis hosts a diverse population of residents. A comfortable community of business professionals, retired individuals and students make up a large part of the population. Corvallis, formerly named Marysville was established in 1849 and was designated the county seat for Benton County in 1854.
The first official claims to this area were two 640 acre parcels, one by Joseph C. Avery in 1845 and the other by William F Dixon in 1846. Combining their donations of land in 1853 and selling the parcels, they used the proceeds to construct the public buildings such as the courthouse and jail. Avery is credited with coining the name 'Corvallis' by compounding the Latin words for 'heart of the valley'. In the winter of 1847-48 JC Avery began to chain off 12 acres of land around his cabin for town lots. Known as 'Little Fields', J.C.'s vision became the community of Corvallis. Doubling in population from the 1850's to the 1870's, Corvallis was the fourth city incorporated in Oregon.
Today, Corvallis has a population of almost 55,000 residents a number of large firms, such as Hewlett Packard, CH2M Hill, and Evanite Fiber Corporation. Corvallis is only 60-90 minutes away from either the Portland Metropolitan area, the ski slopes and the Pacific ocean.
Just across the Willamette River you'll find the home-town feel of Albany. Grown from a small timber community into a more modern small industrial community on the I-5 corridor, Albany's population has grown to over 47,400. Albany hosts Linn Benton Community College and has been the county seat since 1854. Albany has a unique old town feel with one of the largest Veteran’s Day parades in Oregon. The turn of century architecture in downtown draws homeowners looking for a victorian experience. Of course, these older buildings need special attention and inspections can help to highlight the buildings unique features. We have even found an occasional hand dug well lost in the history of the homes crawlspace.
Founded in 1848 by Walter and Thomas Monteith, who purchased the claim to the townsite from Hiram Smeed for $400 and a horse. They named the city after their hometown of Albany, New York. It was renamed to New Albany in 1850 and was changed back to Albany in 1853, finally incorporated as a city in 1864.
The Monteiths built the first frame house in Albany in 1849 and was considered the finest house in Oregon at the time, housing a general store in the parlor. It is currently on the US National Register for Historic Places as the Monteith House Museum. From those humble beginnings, Albany was well on it's way to becoming one of the 12th largest cities in Oregon and the county seat since 1953. It, too, is conveniently located in the state, which makes Albany a place many call home.