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() is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the "Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area", which encompasses all of Benton County. The population was estimated at 49,807 in 2006 by the United States Census Bureau,, though other research supports the estimate of nearly 55,000 used by the city itself in 2008.
Joseph C. Avery settled a land claim at the mouth of Marys River where it flows into the Willamette River in 1845. In 1849, Avery opened a store at the site, platted the land, and surveyed a town site on his land claim, naming the community Marysville.
It is possible that the city was named after early settler Mary Lloyd, but now the name is thought to be derived from French fur trappers' naming of a local peak after the Virgin Mary.
In 1853, the legislative assembly changed the city's name to Corvallis, from the Latin phrase
, meaning "heart of the valley." Corvallis was incorporated as a city on January 29, 1857. The town served briefly as the capital of the Oregon Territory in 1855 before Salem was eventually selected as the permanent seat of state government.