A full historical report on Benton Hall and Annex (published in Fall 2017) is available via the OSU Building and Place Names website: Benton Hall and Annex

For more information on the building's history, see the Community Hall tab within the OSU Buildings Histories in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center website.

The information contained on this page is not comprehensive and is intended only to provide an overview of the building names and namesakes under consideration. The resources are specific to the OSU Special Collections and Archives Research Center. Therefore, other relevant secondary sources, as well as primary sources located in other archival repositories, are not included.

OSU Memorabilia Collection:

The Memorabilia Collection is an artificial collection containing items of interest about Oregon State University and to a lesser extent, the city of Corvallis, and the state of Oregon.

• Box-Folder 25.9 and 10:Buildings – Benton Hall
• Box-Folder 25.8: Buildings - Benton Annex, Station House, Presently Women's Center

Daily Barometer articles: (available on microfilm and bound printed copies)

• May 15, 1947 1:2        Old administration building name changes – now known as Benton Hall
• May 1, 1964 4:1-6       Benton Hall named after senator; oldest building on campus

Oregon Stater article:

• May 1947, page 13:  “Benton Hall”

Facilities Services Records, 1888-2010:

The Facilities Services Records document the physical campus of Oregon State University in Corvallis as well as OSU facilities throughout the state of Oregon beginning with construction of the first building on the current campus in 1888. The records consist predominantly of architectural drawings and files for the design, construction, and modification to structures. For facilities information on Benton Hall, click here.

• Files relevant to Benton Hall include:
  • Series II.  Building Project Files, 1938-2002 1974-1998
  • Series III.  Building Specifications and Reports, 1909-2003
  • Series VII.  Minor Building Modification Files, 1985-1993
  • Series VIII.  General Subject Numbered Files, 1968-1991

*To quickly access files relevant to Benton Hall, hold down the 'Ctrl + F' keys and search for "Benton Hall" in the pop-up search bar*

Benton Hall, c. 1914

Oregon Digital:

Visit Oregon Digital for more images of Benton Hall.

Benton Hall was named after the residents of Benton County who originally raised the money for its construction. Benton County is named after Thomas Hart Benton, a United States Senator from Missouri. 

For information on Benton County history see the following:

• Benton County History via the Benton County website
• The History of Benton County Timeline via the Benton County Historical Society

For biographical information on Missouri Senator, Thomas Hart Benton visit the senator's United States Senate page.

For information on Thomas Hart Benton's ties to Oregon, visit the State Historical Society of Missouri: Historic Missourians page.

  Thomas Hart Benton, 1782-1858