Editing Corvallis, Oregon (section)

===Name change===
In December 1853 the 5th [[Oregon Territorial Legislature]] met in [[Salem, Oregon|Salem]], where a petition was presented seeking to change the name of that city to either "Thurston" or "Valena".<ref name=Carey662>Charles H. Carey, ''A General History of Oregon Prior to 1861: In Two Volumes: Volume II: To the Civil War.'' Portland, OR: Metropolitan Press, 1936; p. 662.</ref> At the same time, another petition was presented seeking to change the name of Salem to "Corvallis", from the [[Latin]] meaning "heart of the valley", while a third resolution was presented to the upper house seeking to change the name of Marysville to Corvallis.<ref name=Carey662 />

A heated debate followed, with the name ultimately awarded to Corvallis in an act passed on December 20 of that same year.<ref name=Carey662 /> By way of rationale, the name "Marysville" was successfully argued to duplicate the moniker of [[Marysville, California|a town in California]], located on the same stagecoach route and that a name change was thus necessary to avoid confusion.<ref>Fagan, ''History of Benton County, Oregon,'' p. 425.</ref>