Joseph C. Avery

Joseph C. Avery
Joseph C. Avery
Legislator in the Provisional Government of Oregon
	In office; 1848–1849
Succeeded by	Position dissolved
Constituency	Benton District
Oregon Territory House of Representatives
	In office; 1850–1852
Constituency	Benton County
Personal details
Born	Joseph Conant Avery; June 9, 1817; Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania
Died	June 16, 1876; Oregon
Spouse	Martha Marsh
Occupation	Farmer, merchant, politician

Joseph Conant Avery (June 9, 1817 – June 16, 1876) was the founder of Corvallis, Oregon. Avery was the first postmaster for the community, and served as a legislator in the Provisional Government of Oregon and the government of the Oregon Territory. Avery House (formerly Avery Lodge) at Oregon State University was named after him.^[1]

Early life

Avery was born in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania on June 9, 1817.^[2] He was educated in Wilkes-Barre before moving to Illinois in 1839.^[2] Avery then married Martha Marsh in 1841 before they immigrated to Oregon Country in 1845.^[2]

Oregon

After wintering at Oregon City, the family moved south the next year.^[3] Joseph Avery settled at the mouth of Marys River where it flows into the Willamette River in the central part of the Willamette Valley of what would become the state of Oregon.^[2] At that location he operated a ferry across the Willamette and established a farm.^[2] In 1848, Avery went to the gold fields of California and mined for a brief time before using his gold to purchase mercantile goods.^[2] Avery then returned to Oregon where he opened a store on his land claim where he then established a town site.^[2] He surveyed and platted the area and named it Marysville in 1850.^[2]^[3]

In 1848, Avery was elected and served in the final session of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon that began in December.^[4] He was elected to the Oregon Territorial Legislature in 1850^[5] through 1852, serving as a Whig and representing Benton County.^[6] In 1853, Avery was appointed as a postal agent servicing both Washington and Oregon territories.^[2] In 1856, Avery returned to the Territorial Legislature as a Democrat.^[7] Joseph Avery, the father of 12 children, died on June 16, 1876.^[2] He was buried at the Masonic Cemetery in Corvallis.^[3]

Naming controversy

After the demise of the Expositor newspaper at Eola in Polk County, Avery acquired the Expositor's equipment and provided Corvallis with its first printing press.^[8] He was later accused of using this press to operate the pro-slavery Occidental Messenger. Although surviving copies of the Occidental Messenger do not identify Avery as the paper's owner and do not indicate that he had control of the paper's editorial content, several contemporary sources identify Avery as the central force behind the Occidental Messenger's publication.^[9] This connection to the pro-slavery movement led to an inquiry in 2017 by Oregon State University (OSU) about whether to retain the Avery name on a residence hall. OSU decided to re-name the building.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Rimel, Anthony (October 13, 2017). "Historical report connects Corvallis founder to pro-slavery newspaper". Corvallis Gazette Times. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.
^ ^a ^b ^c Transactions of the ... Annual Reunion of the Oregon Pioneer Association. Oregon Pioneer Association. Reunion. 1876. p. 66.
^ Oregon Legislative Assembly (4th Provisional) 1848-1849 Regular Session. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on January 30, 2008.
^ Oregon Legislative Assembly (2nd Territorial) 1850 Regular Session. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on January 30, 2008.
^ Oregon Legislative Assembly (4th Territorial) 1852 Regular Session. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on January 30, 2008.
^ Oregon Legislative Assembly (8th Territorial) 1856 Regular Session. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on January 30, 2008.
^ Martin, Bruce, comp. "Located at Albany..." Editorial. The Corvallis Gazette [Corvallis], August 23, 1873: Found in the thesis of Bruce Martin, titled "History of Corvallis: 1846 - 1900" submitted to U of O, June 1938.
^ Joseph C. Avery profile, averylodgehistoricalreport.pdf. Accessed November 6, 2022.