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Corvallis - Our Community |
History
Settled in 1845, Corvallis was first named Marysville, after early settler Mary Lloyd. In 1847, the residents of Marysville petitioned to form Benton County, named for Thomas Hart Benton, an advocate of the development of the Oregon Territory. In 1853, the city was renamed Corvallis, meaning "Heart of the Valley." The city of Corvallis is located in the heart of the Willamette Valley.
Today, Corvallis area residents are justifiably proud of the area's unique characteristics. Cultural and recreational opportunities abound. Diversions include scenic parks, bike paths, water sports of all kinds on the Willamette River, golf courses, festivals, museums, theaters, and art and civic organizations.
Interesting Facts About the City Of Corvallis
The Corvallis community is one of only two in the country to receive a 2010 Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This is the first year of the award, which recognizes communities for their commitment and contribution to helping advance the development of the nation’s voluntary green power market.
National Geographic "Adventure" Rates Corvallis in the Top Ten: The October 2009 issue of National Geographic Adventure has rated Corvallis as one of the ten best Where to Live and Play Now! cities. The article mentions OSU, The Madison Avenue Collective, da Vinci Days, free Wi-Fi spots downtown, and green power, and also discusses the abundance of recreational opportunities.
Corvallis ranked 7th best college town: The American Institute for Economic Research's 2009-2010 College Destinations Index ranked Corvallis as the 7th best college town under 250,000 people.
Corvallis #1 in Green Buildings Per Capita: Corvallis is cited as the #1 city in America for green buildings per capita in Julie Cidell's "Building Green: The Emerging Geography of LEED-Certified Buildings and Professionals" as published in the May 2009 issue (Volume 61, Issue 2) of The Professional Geographer (published by the Association of American Geographers).
2009 Corvallis #1 on the EPA's National List of Green Power Communities: Green Power Communities are cities and towns where the local government, businesses, and residents collectively buy green power in amounts that meet or exceed the EPA's purchase requirements.
2009 Corvallis Named Favorite Eco-Friendly Small Town: Corvallis was voted one of Sunset Magazine's favorite eco-friendly small towns.
Corvallis Named 3rd Longest Life Expectancy and 3rd Greenest Commuters: The September/October 2008 issue of AARP Magazine named Corvallis as having the third greenest commuters (percentage who bike or walk) and the third longest life expectancy at 80.93 years. AARP's research looked at communities' physical aspects such as clean air and water, as well as the health and habits of their citizens.
2008 Corvallis voted the Safest Small City in America by Farmers Insurance Company.
2008 Corvallis voted as one of the 100 Best Walking Cities in America by Prevention Magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA). Corvallis ranked # 64 in a survey of more than 500 cities.
Please check the Awards section of the City of Corvallis website for details on these and other Corvallis honors.
Weather
Weather in Corvallis is mild throughout the year. Despite Oregon's reputation for rain, Corvallis has an annual rainfall of only forty inches--less than New York, Chicago and even Miami!
Summer days are pleasantly warm, with an average maximum temperature of 80 degrees from July through August. On those rare days when the mercury climbs above 90 degrees, a cool breeze usually wafts in from the Pacific Ocean to cool things off before nightfall. Winter temperatures hover around the 40's-50's. Ocasionally we will get a dusting of snow in Corvallis. The snow rarely lasts longer than a day.
Economy
The area's early economy was based on agriculture, timber and education. Oregon State University, once known as the Oregon Agricultural College, was established in Corvallis in 1862. Designated as a Land Grant, Sea Grant and Space Grant institution, OSU has grown to be the largest and oldest institution of higher learning in Oregon, employing over 7,000 faculty and a student body of 19,000.
Agriculture
Agriculture is a booming business in Oregon. A unique combination of soil and climate has made the Willamette Valley a world leader in seed and specialty crops, as well as the production of Christmas trees. Grass and legume seeds, dairy, sheep, plywood, lumber and paper are important local products, as is the newly emerging wine industry. While wood products, agriculture and tourism continue to be major industries in the state, high technology is the fastest growing.
Wineries
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The Willamette Valley, Oregon's leading wine region has two-thirds of the state's wineries and vineyards and is home to more than 200 wineries. It has been recognized as one of the premier Pinot noir producing areas in the world.
The Willamette Valley is a huge and varied appellation that includes three sub-appellations, McMinnville, Dundee Hills and Yamhill Carlton. Three additional sub-appellations, Ribbon Ridge, Chehalem Mountains and Eola Hills have been proposed.
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The term appellation is French and refers to a viticultural region distinguished by geographical features which produce wines with shared characteristics. The idea is that the soil, climate, sun, water quality, and contour of a region combine to produce a style of wine that simply can't be duplicated elsewhere. |
Industry
Hewlett Packard |
CH2M Hill |
In Corvallis, numerous advanced technology businesses have found a home. Hewlett-Packard is located on a 174-acre campus in northeast Corvallis. An international manufacturer of measurement and computation products and systems, Hewlett-Packard is recognized for excellence in quality and support. The company's products and services are used in industry, business, engineering, science, medicine and education worldwide. There are numerous other high technology firms located here, and others continue to be founded as satellite entities.
Corvallis is also the original home of CH2M Hill, a consulting firm of engineers, planners, economists and environmental scientists. The company employs approximately 410 regional and corporate employees in its Corvallis offices.
Corvallis is also home to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center and Samaritan Health Services employing 1,300 people, and The Corvallis Clinic with 550 employees. Both provide health care services to an extensive region ranging from the Oregon Coast to the Cascades. In partnership with Oregon State University, Samaritan Health Services is on the cutting edge of new bio-technologies. The Corvallis Clinic partners with OSU Pharmacy and other institutions to conduct clinical trials of innovative new treatments.
Other major employers in the Corvallis area include:
Corvallis School District 509J (745)
Linn-Benton Community College (550 full time)
Georgia Pacific, Halsey Mill(550)
City of Corvallis (500)
ATF Systems, Oregon (345)
Benton County (330)
Summit Information Systems (305)
Environmental Protection Agency (300)
Pope & Talbot (200)
Commerce
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Commerce is as vibrant as the employment picture is in Corvallis. Going shopping in Corvallis can be a truly pleasant experience. Colorful flower boxes, hanging planters, pennants, awnings and trees combine to create an enjoyable atmosphere for browsing. Downtown Corvallis has over one hundred retail and restaurant establishments and provides a wonderful place to come for goods and services.
Corvallis merchants offer friendly neighbor-to-neighbor service, both downtown and at the numerous small shopping centers located throughout the area. |
Raising a Family in Corvallis
In the book titled Life 2.0, How People Across America are Transforming Their Lives by Finding the Where of Their Happiness, Corvallis is ranked as one of America's Top 25 family-friendly enclaves, a city for families in search of that “Norman Rockwell home town feeling.”
How would YOU rank the attractiveness of Corvallis as a place to raise your family? Following are some Internet sites to help you decide how well Corvallis would meet your family’s needs. First, check out our schools…
Education
Primary & Secondary Schools
From elementary through middle and high schools, and continuing with Linn-Benton Community College and Oregon State University, the area's educational opportunities can only be termed as excellent. Businesses are quick to point to our educational opportunities as a major draw for locating here.
Recognized as one of the top school districts in the Pacific Northwest, Corvallis School District 509J enrolls approximately 7,200 students. The district has 11 elementary, three middle schools, two high schools and one resident farm home. Seventy percent of Corvallis teachers have a master's or higher degree. Every year our district Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores rank among the highest in the state and nation.
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The local Elementary school for CoHo is Lincoln Elementary School. This school is a public school with grade levels Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. For the 2005 school year there were 47 students in Kindergarten, 54 in Grade 1, 57 in Grade 2, 39 in Grade 3, 49 in Grade 4, 35 in Grade 5. Second Grade has the highest number of enrolled students. |
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| The student ethnic body was comprised of 174 white students, 7 asian/pacific islander, 73 hispanic, 9 african american students and 3 native american students. The student economic level is above average.
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Corvallis also has a local Waldorf School and a Montessori School.
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Oregon State University
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Oregon State University, with its annual enrollment of close to 18,000 students, is an integral part of the local community. A premier research university, OSU offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in a variety of fields. OSU programs in Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Forestry, Pharmacy, and a variety of other areas are nationally recognized for high quality. |
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OSU is the state's primary source of basic applied research in forestry, agriculture, fisheries, engineering, electronics, home economics and the sciences. Students come to OSU from all fifty states and from more than ninety countries around the world.
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Linn-Benton Community College
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Linn-Benton Community College is one of the largest of Oregon's community colleges. LBCC offers general education courses, occupational and technical preparatory training, lower division college transfer courses, skills upgrading and employee technical training. The college's Training and Business Development Center serves the needs of local businesses through workshops, seminars, training programs and counseling. |
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Health Care
Corvallis is rapidly becoming a regional health care center and enjoys unusually sophisticated health services for a community of its size. Benton County residents are served by Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, a regional health facility that is one of five rural referral centers in Oregon with special programs serving a three-county area. The Corvallis Clinic has been providing quality health care since 1947. Specialists at the Corvallis Clinic are available to provide care for all members of the family with departments ranging from immediate care to oncology, from obstetrics to gerontology.
Recreation and Culture
Recreation
Corvallis has an abundance of leisure activities to choose from, with more than fifty parks and designated preserves. There are public and private recreational facilities for tennis, racquetball, golf, swimming, fitness, soccer, softball, basketball, baseball, football, volleyball, karate, gymnastics horseback riding, and more that sixty miles of bike and running paths. Backpacking, mountaineering, canoeing, camping, white water rafting, skiing (downhill and cross country), bike touring are all popular with Corvallis residents. Freshwater fishing of trout and steelhead is excellent in the surrounding rivers and streams.
Mary's Peak |
Alsea Falls |
Adjacent to downtown Corvallis, the Willamette River offers water sports, and the recreational areas of Alsea Falls, Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Mary's Peak and Peavy Arboretum are within a half-hour drive. The area's historic covered bridges, world-class wineries and historic buildings are all found on scenic routes throughout Benton County. Golfers have several public and private courses from which to choose.
Running and biking are favorite pastimes in Corvallis. Corvallis has been named a bicycle-friendly community and ranks 9th in the nation in bike commuting. Corvallis has approximately 61 miles of on-street bike lanes and approximately 13 miles of off-street bicycle and pedestrian paths. Bike lanes are included on most streets, and there are routes along the Willamette and Mary's rivers. Trails for hiking or biking are available in Avery Park (15th Street and US 20), or in OSU's Peavy Arboretum (8 miles north on Hwy 99W).
Corvallis is in the heart of the Willamette Valley with 21 state parks and campgrounds. Corvallis is also close to the Siuslaw National Forest, a 630,000 acre forest that includes the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. There are campgrounds, hiking, picnic areas, fishing, hunting, and many more activities available in the national forest.
And swimming indoors and out...
Osborn Aquatic Center
Favorite local swimming holes
Culture
Majestic Theatre |
Benton Co. Museum |
Major musical events and ballet are accessible here and in nearby communities. The University Theater, the OSU LaSells Stewart Center, the CH2M HILL Alumni Center and the restored Majestic Theater, Chamber Music Corvallis and the Corvallis OSU Symphony, in downtown Corvallis offer plays, symphony concerts, lectures, conferences and seminars throughout the year. Art lovers enjoy the wide variety of art at galleries, both on the OSU campus and around town, where there are many private galleries in addition to the Corvallis Arts Center and the Benton County Historical Museum Gallery.
Festivals & Events
Corvallis Farmer's Market
| The market association's goal is to provide highly visible, centralized locations in Corvallis and Albany for mid-Willamette Valley and Coast Range farmers and gardeners to market high-quality produce directly to consumers. Farmers' markets are undergoing a renaissance of sorts. Why? Markets meet certain community needs that had been swept aside in pursuit of a "modern" food distribution system. Farmers' markets: |
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Educate consumers about how their food is grown and processed
Support small family farmers, whose continued existence depends on direct marketing opportunities, and related small-scale economic activity
Protect air quality and the environment by shortening the distance food travels from farm to consumer and encouraging sustainable agriculture practices
Create a community activity that helps revitalize downtowns, riverfronts and other community resources
Red, White & Blues Riverfront Festival
The summer season launches with Red, White & Blues Riverfront Festival on July 3rd and 4th. Presented by the Downtown Corvallis Association, The Festival showcases a wide array of foods, premium local wines and fresh microbrew beers, a crafts faire, activities for children and adults alike, and a spectacular fireworks display grand finale at dusk on July 4. The musical entertainers are renown and provide some of the best blues you'll ever hear! We're sure you'll agree-the only blues at this party is in the music!
Philomath Frolic & Rodeo
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The Philomath Frolic & Rodeo is held during the second weekend of July with three Northwest Professional Rodeo Association sanctioned rodeos, (NPRA), Lions Club breakfasts, Beef & Chicken Barbecues, The Kids and Main Street Parades, Crafts booths, Food booths, Clarkettes Drill Team performances, Friday & Saturday Dance, Carnival Rides, Old Fashion Fiddle Jam, Musical Christian Cowboy Church Service, Patton's Mini Bull Buckers, Bingo, Kids Korner, Novice Barrel Racing, and much more to make a fun-filled weekend. |
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da Vinci Days
Kinetic Sculpture Race
Festival Entry | 
Dave's Kids After
Kinetic Sculpture Race |
The festival is a weekend festival in July that features competitions to watch or join, art to admire or to do, music to hear or make, hands-on activities that teach in a fun sort of way, movies to watch, speakers who inspire, and nerdy stuff for now and the future. The festival is designed with everyone in mind. There are activities and events offered with families and children in mind. Others are for teenagers and still others for adults. Many are for all ages.
Rhapsody in the Vineyard
“Rhapsody in the Vineyard”, a Downtown wine walk, presented by the Downtown Corvallis Association, will feature some of Oregon’s premier wineries pouring tastes of their finest vintages.
The Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire
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With over 125 artisan stalls and 1,000 costumed players, visitors can browse the village for unique hand made goods and one of a kind treasures while surrounded by Renaissance revelry and entertainment. Eat, drink, and be merry, for food purveyors are on hand within Friar Tuck's Forest, and children delight in games and adventures. |
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The only fair of its kind in Oregon, this exciting event offers an educational interactive adventure in history, welcoming families and children. Modeled on the merriest of elements from the times of Shakespeare and Elizabeth I, and set in the historic renaissance of 1558 to 1603, here all the Faire is a stage, and everyone a player!
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Corvallis Fall Festival
| The Corvallis Fall Festival, one of Corvallis' most popular annual events, the last weekend of September, brings together artisans from all over the Northwest. Discover unique treasures and enjoy the music, children's activities, and food as you wander through flower filled Central Park with a rhythm in your step. |
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Places to Stay
If you are interested in reserving the guest room at our Common House, please send an email to cohocontact@cohoecovillage.org. If you would rather stay in a hotel, motel or bed and breakfast, the following are some of the possibilities. (Rates are subject to change).
Harrison House B & B
Address: 2310 NW Harrison Blvd., Corvallis Oregon 97330
Phone: (541) 752-6248 - Toll Free (800) 233-6248
Room Rates: $90-$170 night
Website: Harrison House
E-Mail: stay@corvallis-lodging.com
The Harrison House provides gracious hospitality and comfortable accommodations in our quintessential college town. The five guest rooms are bright and airy. The Sun Room refrigerator is stocked with complimentary local wine, soft drinks and bottled water. Wake up to a delicious breakfast, explore town or the surrounding countryside and return to a later afternoon snack before dinner. At the end of the day, read a book and head off to bed for a great night sleep.
Townhouse Motor Inn
Address: 350 SW 4th Street Corvallis, OR 97333
Phone: (541)753-4496 Fax: (541) 753-7287
Reservations: 800-898-4496
Website: Townhouse Motor Inn
Room Rates: $40 to $75 night
E-Mail: townehouse350@aol.com
48 comfortable units + 17 Kitchenettes - Non-smoking and Smoking rooms available.
Pets Welcome (Minimal fee and/or deposit). Refrigerators and microwaves - Guest laundry – Free parking. Walking distance from downtown, Oregon State University, and Bus transit Pleasant drive to Oregon Coast and wineries.
Our member Mardi stayed here with her dog Chaser for a week when she first moved to Corvallis. She really liked the place. The Kitchenette rooms are very large and comfortable. The hotel is very close to downtown.
Super 8
Address: 407 NW 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR 97330
Phone: 541-758-8088
Website: Super 8 Hotel
Room Rates: $56 to $70 night
Riverfront property with indoor pool and spa. Clean rooms with many amenities at an affordable price. Hotel amenities include the indoor pool and spa, valet laundry service, free coffee, free local calls, free parking, and 24-hour front desk service. Pets Allowed
Our members Denny and Brenda have stayed here with their dog Desi. They like the place and it's convenient location.
Corvallis Links
City of Corvallis
Corvallis Chamber of Commerce
Corvallis Tourism Office
Benton County
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