The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1897-07-23
|SOnE "REMINISCENCES.
Brief Mention Of a Few Of the More
Important Persons and Events
Connected with Benton's
Early History.

IBY HON. JOHN BURNETT. ]

The capitol of the state was officially
located at Corvallis, January IS, 1855.
In the month of April, following, the
territorial printer, Ashael Bush, had
moved the publication office of the
Oregon Statesman to Corvallis.
The First Comptroller of the Treas
ury Department but shortly afterward
notified the governor and secretary OF
the territory that the relocation act OF
the session of I854-5 was without force
or effect until it received congressional
approval; that no expenditures of gov
ernment money must be made, except
at Salem; that contracts made for ex-
penditures for the public buildings at
that place must not be annulled; and
that no member of the legislature should
be paid mileage or per diem for at
tending session convened at any other
place than Salem.
Governor Curry and Secretary Hard
ing returned to Salem with their re-
spective offices, and work was resumed
on the public buildings at Salem AS the
time approached for the session of the
legislature, the knowledge had spread
as to the implicit instructions received
in September by Secretary Harding
from the First Comptroller, as to the
status of the relocation of the capitol
However, large majority of both
houses assembled at Corvallis, Decem-
Der sd, 1855. On the 9th, L. F. Gro
yer introduced the first and only bill
passed at Corvallis. Its purport was to
relocate the seat of government at
Salem. On the 10th, the bill passed the
house, to take effect and be in force on
the 18th. Its passage was immediately
reported to the council, but there was
no quorum of that body in session. On
the next day, the council proceeded to
its consideration.
Amendments were offered, suggest
ing location by the popular vote, and
different towns were, in turn, named
for the capital, but all such PROPOSE
tions were severally defeated. The
council then amended the section fix
ing the time, making it the 18th instead
of the 18th, and then returned the bill
to the house for concurrence. The
house promptly concurred, and the as
sembly adjourned, to meet at Salem, at
which city the session was resumed on
the 18th.
On the night of the goth, the capitol
building was fired by an incendiary, the
building destroyed and the territorial Ii
brary and furniture consumed.
The act of the territorial legislature
locating the seat of government at Cor
wallis provided for removing the state
university (Which had formerly been To-
Gated at Corvallis) to Jacksonville; so
that when the capital was relocated at
Salem, Corvallis lost both the capital
and university.
In 1868, a bill, known as house bill
No. 81, was introduced into the legisla-
ture, providing for the organization and
establishment of the State Agricultural
College. The bill, as reported, desig-
mated the Willamette University, al
Salem, as the agricultural college of the
state, to receive the endowment pro-
vided by act of congress. On the second
reading of the bill, on motion Hon. C.
B. Bellinger, member from Bentor
! county, (now judge of the United
States district court for Oregon), Cor.
wallis College was substituted for Will
lamette University, and that is the way
Corvallis secured the State Agricultural
College.
The lawyers of Benton county are
worthy of mention in this brief sketch
Benton county has always had strong
bar; her attorneys have been called al
different times to all parts of the state
in important cases; and four of them
to-wit, Kelsay, Thayer, Burnett ant
Strahan, have graced the bench of the
supreme court of the state. She ha:
furnished larger number of supreme
Judges than any county in the state; ane
in addition to this, Judge Bellinger, ;
former resident and lawyer of Bentor
county, is the present judge of thu
| United States district court for th'
district of Oregon. Ex-Governo
Thayer was former resident and law
yer of Benton, as was ex-senator
Slater.
In the constitutional convention an,
in the halls of the legislature she ha
been represented by strong men-th
j delegates to the convention being Colo
4 mel John Kelsay, H. c. Lewis, H. E
Nicols and VIM. Matzger. In the tel