Oral Histories of the Benton County (Or.) Courthouse, 1987-1991
The Oral Histories of the Benton County (Or.) Courthouse document the history of the building as expressed by descendants of those who built it as well as those who worked in it and fought to have it preserved, including Judge Richard Mengler and six other interviewees. Completed in 1889 and located in downtown Corvallis, the Benton County Courthouse is Oregon's oldest courthouse building still being used for its original purpose. All of the audiocassettes held in this collection and both volumes of the bound oral history have been digitized and these files are available upon patron request.
ID: OH 023
Extent: 0.6 cubic feet
Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.
Statement on Description: Arrangement and description by Chris Petersen
Preferred Citation: Oral Histories of the Benton County (Or.) Courthouse (OH 023), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center.
Acquisition Note:
The collection was originally created by the staff of the Horner Museum with support from the Benton County Commissioners' office. The materials were transferred to the University Archives upon the closure of the Horner Museum in 1996 and later described as part of the Horner Museum Oral History Collection (OH 10). In 2013 the materials were separated out and described as their own collection.
Container List
- Series 1: Audiocassettes, 1987-1990 Add to Shelf
- Horner Museum accession numbers are included with each set of audiocassettes. All interviews were conducted by Jennifer Lee. All recordings except for Richard Mengler's 1987 Chamber of Commerce presentation were duplicated by the project team and have been arranged into this series. All of the audiocassettes described in this series have been digitized and these files are available upon patron request.
- Extent: 37 items
- Box-Item 1.1: Mengler, Richard, December 8, 1987 Add to Shelf
- Presentation by Mengler on the history of the Benton County Courthouse delivered at a meeting of the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce. No transcript has been created for this recording. Horner accession number 988-1-9a.
- Box-Item 1.2-1.5: Hunt, Gladys (Mack), March 16, 1988 Add to Shelf
- Horner accession numbers 988-1-1a-b, including two duplicate cassettes. Hunt discusses her father, Herschel Mack, who served as Benton County Clerk from 1926-1932. Hunt also discusses her recollections of working in the courthouse, the Depression years, and her family's involvement with local public schools.
- Box-Item 1.6-1.9: Gravelle, Edmund and Elroy, March 27, 1988 Add to Shelf
- Horner accession numbers 988-1-2a-b, including two duplicate cassettes. The Gravelle brothers discuss their grandfather Odina Gravel, a carpenter who built the courthouse tower. They also discuss their family history, including information on their French-Canadian ancestry.
- Box-Item 1.10-1.13: Moore, Dorothy, April 22, 1988 Add to Shelf
- Horner accession numbers 988-1-3a-b, including two duplicate cassettes. Moore discusses her father A.J. Moore, Benton County Clerk from 1932-1948. She also notes that the Moore family home was located across the street from the courthouse. She recalls teaching children to dance, performing musical programs and playing piano in the local silent movie theaters.
- Box-Item 1.14-1.17: Forland, Louise (Moore), April 27, 1988 Add to Shelf
- Horner accession numbers 988-1-4a-b, including two duplicate cassettes. Forland discusses her father A.J. Moore as well as recollections of life as a student at Oregon Agricultural College and working in downtown Corvallis during the Depression.
- Box-Item 1.18-1.21: Mengler, Richard, December 7, 1988 Add to Shelf
- Horner accession numbers 988-1-9b-c, including two duplicate cassettes.
- Box-Item 1.22-1.25: Schultze, Magdalen (Mann), March 24, 1989 Add to Shelf
- Horner accession numbers 988-1-4a-b, including two duplicate cassettes. Schultze discusses her father, Thomas Mann, the builder of the courthouse. She also recounts her student years at Oregon Agricultural College during the Depression and searching for jobs following her graduation.
- Box-Item 1.26-1.29: Mengler, Richard, August 4, 1989 Add to Shelf
- Horner accession numbers 988-1-9d-e, including two duplicate cassettes.
- Box-Item 1.30-1.33: Mengler, Richard, March 2, 1990 Add to Shelf
- Horner accession numbers 988-1-9f-g, including two duplicate cassettes.
- Box-Item 1.34-1.37: Mengler, Richard, June 25, 1990 Add to Shelf
- Horner accession numbers 988-1-9h-i, including two duplicate cassettes.
- Series 2: Transcripts and Project Files, 1988-1991 Add to Shelf
- Box-folders 3.1 and 3.2, volumes 1 and 2 of the bound oral history, have been digitized and are available upon request.
- Extent: 10 folders
- Box-Folder 2.1: Draft Transcript: Forland, Louise (Moore), 1990 Add to Shelf
- Box-Folder 2.2: Draft Transcript: Gravelle, Edmund and Elroy Gravelle, 1988 Add to Shelf
- Folder also contains interview notes, correspondence, background materials and two photos of University Falls on Elliot Creek, Tillamook County, Oregon.
- Box-Folder 2.3: Draft Transcript: Hunt, Gladys (Mack), 1988 Add to Shelf
- Folder also contains interview notes.
- Box-Folder 2.4: Draft Transcripts: Mengler, Richard, 1988-1991 Add to Shelf
- Folder also contains interview notes and background materials.
- Box-Folder 2.5: Draft Transcript: Moore, Dorothy, 1989 Add to Shelf
- Folder also contains interview notes.
- Box-Folder 2.6: Draft Transcript: Schultze, Magdalen (Mann), 1990 Add to Shelf
- Box-Folder 3.1: An Oral History of the Benton County Courthouse, Volume 1. By Jennifer Lee, 1991 Add to Shelf
- Volume contains an introduction to the Benton County Courthouse oral history project and in-depth life history of Judge Richard Mengler (1911-2001). Volume has been digitized and is available upon request.
- Box-Folder 3.2: An Oral History of the Benton County Courthouse, Volume 2. By Jennifer Lee, 1991 Add to Shelf
- Volume contains the text of oral history interviews conducted with Gladys (Mack) Hunt, Magdalen (Mann) Schultze, Dorothy Moore, Louise (Moore) Forland, Edmund Gravelle and Elroy Gravelle. Volume has been digitized and is available upon request.
- Box-Folder 3.3: Signed Permissions Forms, 1988-1990 Add to Shelf
- Box-Folder 3.4: Portraits of Interviewees, 1988 Add to Shelf
- Folder contains eight 35-mm slides depicting Louise (Moore) Forland, Edmund and Elroy Gravelle, Richard Mengler and Magdalen (Mann) Schultze.