Welcome to:

Transitions in Agriculture

Benton SWCD’s 55th Annual Meeting

1885

Postcard of Corvallis from Cemetery Hill, drawn by J.T. Picket.

Benton County Historical Museum, 1979-256.0003

circa

The Horning Carding Mill on Oak Creek. after 1869

Benton County Historical Museum, Harriet Moore Collection, 1985-061.0046

After 1890 Benton County Historical Museum, Harriet Moore Collection, 1994-038

Benton County Flouring Mills, Corvallis, erected in 1890; much of the flour produced went to foreign markets.

1897 The Corvallis Creamery is established. Dairying has become of greater importance regionally.

Benton County Historical Museum

1900 With the turn of the century the flouring mills domination of Corvallis industrial output gives way to timber industry.

Benton County Historical Museum, Corvallis Public Library Collection, 1985-032.0026BM

Threshing crew at harvest time near Philomath.

Benton County Historical Museum, Justina Newton Thomas Collection, 1996-064.0055

circa 1900

A panorama of Philomath. circa 1900 Benton County Historical Museum

TOP: harvest crew with steam-powered thrashing machine, Bellfountain.

1906

BOTTOM: harvest crew with chuck wagon.

Photo Submitted by Alvah Hinton, GT 16

1907

Benton County Historical Museum, Andrew and Wilma Ayers Collection 1980-30.0009

circa Melon harvest worthy of a postcard.

1910 Purebred sheep on Peter Witeaker farm.

George M. Weister, photographer Benton County Historical Museum, Corvallis Commercial Club Collection, 1985-032.0025

circa

1910 Peacock’s house and farm with two story water tower and windmill, rhubarb field in foreground.

Benton County Historical Museum, Harriet Moore Collection, 1994-038.0582

circa

1911 Oregon Apple Company Apple Pickers, all donning hats.

Benton County Historical Museum, Frank Groves Collection, 1980-088.0065

circa

1912 Benton County Produce Display at the Oregon State Fair, it was to win first prize this year, too.

Benton County Historical Museum, Frank Groves Collection, 1980-088.0065

Jess A. Hanson begins a poultry breeding business and will become the world's pre-eminent breeder of White Leghorn chickens for egg production.

1913

Benton County Historical Museum, 1981-002.00

Agriculture class at Corvallis High School 1915

Benton County Historical Museum, Harriet Moore Collection, 1982-004

Town of Alsea. before1915 Benton County Historical Museum, The Caryl Croisant and Greta Gilmour Collection, 1985-165.0013

The "wheat slump of 1920" closes the Fischer Brothers Milling Company.

1920

1924 Fischer Brothers Milling Company reopens with an

emphasis on feed and seed rather than flour. Peter Marbach, photographer

1922 Sam H. Moore opens the Benton County Hatchery on the corner of Eleventh and Taylor streets, at that time the largest electric hatchery on the west coast.

Benton County Historical Museum, Harriet Moore Collection

Inside the Western Oregon Packing

Corporation’s Cannery.

(Photograph by Ball Studio) Benton County Historical Museum, Harriet Moore Collection, 1982-004

1925

Label for “Fancy Apricots” canned in Corvallis.

circa

Benton County Historical Museum, James Baggett Collection, 2006-016.0029

Agricultural laborers at the Seavy Hop Yard.

1930

Benton County Historical Museum

Stovall family and garden corn crop in King’s Valley. circa1930 Photo submitted by George Stovall (right), GT 29.

1933

Agricultural machinery for spraying & dusting hops, at Horst Hops Yard.

Benton County Historical Museum, Oregon State University Botany Department Collection, 1982-015.0005P

1935

O.S.C. Extension Service, Extension and Experiment Station Communications, P120:1050

View of turkey farm near Corvallis.

Hop harvests in Benton County; Oregon led hop production in the U.S. for decades.

circa1935

Benton County Historical Museum, Harland Pratt Collection, 1981-056.001P

1939 Willamette River at Corvallis looking east-southeast.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

1940 Agricultural laborers with “modern” hop harvesting machinery.

Benton County Historical Museum, Benton County Historical Society Collection, 1982-059.0238CS

circa

1944

A crew of neighborhood women are wigwaming fiber flax at the Benton County Flax Growers Cooperative near Monroe.

O.S.C. Extension Service, Extension and Experiment Station Communications, P120:2391

1944

O.S.C. Extension Service, Harriet’s Collection, HC0972

Boy working on the J.W. Miller farm south of Corvallis through OSC under the farm labor live-in program.

1951

Irrigated clover pasture on farm,

owned by Mr. Murphy, south of Corvallis.

R. G. Fowler, Jr., photographer O.S.C. Extension Service, Extension and Experiment Station Communications, P120:3257

1948

Robert W. Every operating sprayer on sheep for ticks on a south Benton County farm; nozzle held close to get skin deep penetration

with the DDT solution.

R. G. Fowler, Jr., photographer O.S.C. Extension Service, Extension and Experiment Station Communications, P120:3257

1954 circa

O.S.C. Extension Service, Harriet’s Collection, HC993

Second cutting of alfalfa; plants on the left without Borax added to the soil, plants on the right show what growth has occurred with borax.

1958 Installation of tile drains on Cheadle farm.

Western Ways Photo

1959

BEFORE: Henry Clay farm in Kings Valley.

AFTER: Same view after shaping,

fertilizing and seeding to perennial grasses.

1962

First mention of Christmas trees; H. L. Schudel farm on Beaver Creek.

1964

Children’s Farm Home with milking machine in dairy barn.

Benton County Historical Museum, Alice Rampton Collection, 2006-033.0011

1965

Young walnut orchard on Kiger Island, owned by Earl and Roy Hathaway, is double cropped to alfalfa; an early example of agroforestry.

Grass-seed stubble is burned in Willamette Valley. Gene Daniels, photographer

September 1972

September 1972 Burnt grass-seed stubble in Willamette Valley. Gene Daniels,

photographer

1974 U-Pick-It strawberry farm.

Benton County Historical Museum, Robert Henderson Estate Collection, 2009-086.0181

Alpine Vineyards opens, signaling the beginning of the wine industry in Benton County. 1976

1985 Farm Bill aims to reduce soil erosion on highly erodible cropland and discourage conversion of wetlands into non-wetland areas.

1998-99 Nose pumps for cattle installed to allow access to water while keeping livestock out of streams.

2004

Owen’s Farm under conservation easement by Greenbelt Land Trust.

Teresa Matteson, photographer

2011 Trial use of swine for rotational grazing at Fern Road Farm, with Alex Westerberg and Teresa Matteson.

Jason Bradford, photographer

2010

Spring Hills’ Organic Sweet Pepper plants.

Teresa Matteson, photographer

September

2009

Organic cherry and grape tomatoes at the Corvallis Farmers Market.

Teresa Matteson, photographer

August

2011

Thank you to Caday Farm for the donation of beautiful and delicious squash.

Teresa Matteson, photographer October

Sources: Pokarney, Bruce (2002) Oregon Harvest. Woodburn, OR: Beautiful America Publishing Company. Corvallis Gazette-Times & Benton County Historical Society and Museum (2000) A Pictorial History of Benton County. Corvallis, OR: Corvallis Gazette-Times. http://oregondigital.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/archives&CISOPTR=3249&CISOBOX=1&REC=13 http://oregondigital.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/archives&CISOPTR=484&CISOBOX=1&REC=12 http://oregondigital.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/archives&CISOPTR=2148&CISOBOX=1&REC=4 http://oregondigital.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/archives&CISOPTR=50&CISOBOX=1&REC=14 http://oregondigital.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/archives&CISOPTR=2124&CISOBOX=1&REC=1 http://oregondigital.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/archives&CISOPTR=712&CISOBOX=1&REC=10

Peter Caday

Dan Goracke

Gary Horning

Frank Nusbaum

Tony Stroda