Rev. and Mrs. William A. Finley. William A. Finley was the first president of Corvallis College from 1865-1872. Finley was a Methodist minister who helped alter the reputation of Corvallis College from a "pioneer high school" to a higher education institution.
Corvallis College as it appeared in about 1868. It was located in the center of the block bounded by Fifth, Sixth, Madison, and Monroe Streets in Corvallis, Oregon.
The Finleys' first home home in Corvallis (known as the "Nest in the West") stood on Van Buren and 5th Streets. The Finleys are standing on the upper porch, with their son, Ernest, and a niece. On the lower porch are Rev. Lowell, pastor of the Corvallis Church, and his wife, right; Mr. Osborne and daughter; and Rosa Jacobs. This photograph was published in the June 1930 "Oregon Stater", page 8.
This image shows some of the preparatory and college level students enrolled at the time. The 1872-73 college catalog lists ninety-eight students at all levels, including twenty-six “agricultural students.”
From back left: Frank Cauthorn, Newton Addison Thompson, George P. Lent, and Isaac Jacobs. Addie M. Allen and Minnie M. White are the women in the photo. Addie M. Allen married Newton Addison Thompson and Minnie M. White married O.A.C. Pres. B. L. Arnold.
Left to Right: E. E. Grimm, Prof. of Ag; Mrs. Ida Callahan, Assist. in Prep; B. L. Arnold, President; B. J. Hawthorn, Professor of Languages, Dr. Joseph Emery, Prof. of Math and Natural Sciences; W. W. Briston. Benjamin L. Arnold served as the President of Oregon Agricultural College from 1872-1892. Arnold constructed a curriculum structure, dividing studies into two departments, Literary and Scientific. Each department contained specific corresponding schools.
Bristow served on the college faculty from 1882 to 1894. He was principal of the preparatory department and also taught classes in bookkeeping and beekeeping.