Philomath College

Grey and rainy day. But when I entered town this morning, the sun had poked through the clouds and was shining its light on the museum. So thought you might enjoy a little bit of local history.

In 1853, members of the United Brethren Church crossed the plains under the leadership of Reverend T.J. Connor. this group of families settled in Benton County, Oregon. Reverend Connor organized the first United Brethren Church in Benton County at the Union schoolhouse in Plymouth, south of present day Philomath. In the 1860s, Union was the only school in the region. Local residents wanted to build another, more centrally located school.
In February 1865, members of the UBC formed a committee to build a school. The committee collected $2,510 to purchase a half-section of land from the Henderson donation land clain for a site. The committee reserved 8 acres of land for a campus and divided the remaining property into lots to sell to develop a town around the school.
The school was chartered under the name "Philomath College" in 1865. Philomath comes from the Greek language, meaning "lover of learning".
The town grew around the college. As the program grew, the college expanded. In 1904, a wing was added on the west side (left facing) of the building. Another wing was started in 1906. In 1929 lack of enrollment due to economic depression and poor financial management forced the school to close it doors. After the college closed, the building was used as a church. In the 1960's, the building had fallen into disrepair. The fate of the structure was in question until local citizens saved the building in the late 1970s, and placed it on the National Register of Historic Places. The Benton County Historical Society acquired the property and opened the Benton County Historical Museum in 1980.
Information from the Benton Co. Historical Museum