Benton County Courthouse

The Benton County courthouse is understood to be the oldest standing active courthouse in Oregon. It was dedicated on July 4, 1888. Its architectural style is High Victorian Italianate, and it remains in remarkably sound condition.

One of the smallest counties in Oregon, Benton County has an area of less than 670 square miles. It lies in the mid-section of the Willamette Valley, south of Portland. It was established in 1847 by the Provisional Government and named for Thomas H. Benton, US Senator from Missouri, a strong advocate of the Oregon Country. The 1888 population of Corvallis, the county seat for Benton County, was about 1500. Passenger train service came in 1880, but riverboat travel continued long after that time. As late as 1887 the catalog of Oregon Agricultural College, now Oregon State University, advised students to reach Corvallis from the north by riverboat. The population of the county is now about 50,000. Some 30,000 reside in Corvallis.

The first courthouse was constructed in 1855. It was replaced in 1888-1889 by the present one, which is the oldest active courthouse in the state. The first one cost $6,200, part of which was withheld from the contractor because of poor workmanship. The present courthouse cost about $70,000 and was financed by a two-mill levy. It was authorized in 1888, and constructed in 1888-1889. A new jail was built at the same time to the south of the courthouse. It cost an additional $14,500. The original jail was succeeded by a single-story, tile-roofed structure on the north in 1929 and, more recently, by the single-story Corrections Wing of 1974-1976.

Delos D. Neer of Portland was the architect for the courthouse. He was born in Charlottesville, New York in 1847. During the Civil War, he served in the Union Army and participated in several battles, including the campaign of the Shenandoah Valley under the command of Phil Sheridan.
Following the war, he became an apprentice builder and earned journeyman carpenter status in 1868. He married in 1869 but his wife, Alfrelia, died in 1873 following the infant death of their two children. Neer moved to San Francisco in 1875, where he practiced his trade. From California, he journeyed to Portland in 1879 and began a serious study of architecture. The following year he opened an architectural office in East Portland which proved to be successful. Besides the Benton County Courthouse, he designed several other county courthouses in Oregon including the Washington, Clackamas, and Lake County courthouses, and the Snohomish County Courthouse in Snohomish, Washington. He was the architect of the Barr Block, one of Portland's early imposing business blocks. Neer designed many other buildings in Oregon and was active until his death in 1917.

The Benton County courthouse was built of native stone and brick made on the site. The sand for the exterior stucco and interior plastering was shipped to Corvallis in sacks from Lewisville, Washington Territory. It was brought to Portland on a barge in a loose state and then placed in sacks and transferred about the distance of a block to the river steamer Bently, then taken to Salem, transferred to the smaller barge Three Sisters, and carried to Albany. At Albany, it was loaded on rail cars for the final leg to Corvallis. A February 22, 1889 article in The Corvallis Gazette explained why: "The contracts call for the very best material in building this structure and, as no sand suitable could be procured at any nearer point this is the reason why it is brought from the above point (Lewisville)."

Nineteen large stones, eleven of which are as long as the front entrance of the courthouse is wide, were procured in San Francisco. They were utilized for the steps; their thickness being ca. eight inches and width ca. 16 inches.

Although the boiler and hot water heat were installed at the time of construction, almost every room had a chimney connection for a wood-burning stove. Some of these were used. The eighteen small chimneys that once lined the roof have been removed. The building was piped for acetylene gas lights. The pipes can still be seen in the first-floor hall.

The Howard tower clock was installed soon after the building was finished. It used weights for power which needed to be re-wound every week, a two-hour process. The weights and huge pendulum are still in the tower.

The old city fire bell is also there. It was tolled by a rope that ran through the upper floors, and down the front stairwell to the front door.