Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 26.djvu/475

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OREGON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES
409

and meant an inclosure or pen for stock. It was possibly from the same source as the South African Dutch word kraal. There were two reasons for describing creeks with this word. The first was that stockmen built their corrals with streams running through them as a matter of convenience. In the second place there were many valleys, especially in eastern Oregon where the rock formation produced natural corrals, with water running through them.

Corvallis, Benton County. Corvallis was first called Marysville. The legislature changed the name to Corvallis in 1853. There is much dispute as to the origin of Marysville, It may# have been named by Wayman Saint Clair for Mary Lloyd. There is some little romance about this, in that it is stated that she was the first white girl to cross Marys River. On the other hand old residents of Benton County assert that Adam E. Wimple, one of the earliest settlers named Marysville, Marys River and Marys Peak for his sister in New York. Then there is the customary Indian legend, revived by the white man, than an Indian girl named Mary was the reason for the name. For details of the first two versions see Scott's History of the Oregon Country, volume II, pages 168, 187, 188 and 313. See also under Marys River.

Joseph C. Avery was the first owner of the site of Corvallis, and he was a pioneer of 1845. He died in 1876. Avery made up the name Corvallis by compounding Latin words meaning "heart of the valley." It is said that the name was changed to prevent confusion with Marysville, California. Corvallis has an elevation of 231 feet and the geography of its immediate surroundings may be seen on the U. S. Geological Survey map of the Corvallis quadrangle.

Coryell Pass, Lane County. This pass in on the narrow shelf of ground between the Willamette River and the hills about a mile south of Springfield Junction. It