Designed by architect John Bennes, the Beef Barn was built in 1914 to house the College's beef cattle and sheep herds. Its loft could accommodate 300 tons of hay. The barn was located near where Withycombe Hall stands today. The Beef Barn was slated to be moved further to the west in the fall of 1947, but was destroyed by fire on September 15 of that year. Spontaneous combustion of wet hay was determined to be the cause. Five head of cattle that were to be shown at the Pacific International Livestock exhibition in Portland died in the fire. Present-day cattle barns are located near the corner of NW 35th and Campus Way.

SCARC: The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holds several collections documenting the beef barn, including photographs and university records.

Oregon Digital: Oregon Digital includes both textual and photographic resources documenting the history of the beef barn. Of particular note are images of the fire that destroyed the original barn in 1947.