Corvallis Main Street, Circa 1920 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. The post office was established in 1850. In 1853, the legislative assembly changed the city's name to Corvallis, from the Latin phrase cor vallis, 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.