A basement in Finley? A library in Weatherford? What even is a trysting tree?

How well do you know Corvallis? How much of its obscure geography and infrastructures have you explored? 

“People should just keep exploring,” says Oliver Russell, a third year mechanical engineering major and graphic design minor. “A lot of times, nothing beats just going out there and just like seeing what’s out there yourself.”

Russell is the technical officer for the Orange and Black Film Club here at Oregon State. 

He reflects on his time in the club and all the interesting places he’s gotten to film at for the club’s short films. 

“Some of the most interesting places we’ve filmed have been in like little niche places you’d never know existed, like we got to film in the basement of Finley Hall, which was really interesting, it has these spooky long hallways.” 

He also mentions, “We got to film in the Weatherford library, which is on the fifth floor.” 

While these places aren’t necessarily accessible to everyone, Russell also brings up some accessible places off campus. 

“One place that not a lot of people I know have heard of before, I’ve mentioned it, is the Bruce Starker Arts Park, which is down a little bit south west of campus, below the highway, and they have a duck pond and a playground and a bunch of really cool running and walking trails that I’ve been on many times.” 

He adds, “And if anyone’s never been to like, Bald Hill, and the old barn out there or the covered bridge, I’d say these are like really cool places that are super super close to campus, really accessible, and feel like a whole other world.” 

A lot of these places he’s gone to for film club, he has revisited because they were just so special to him, one of these is the McDonald Dunn Research Forest. 

He says it has, “really cool natural spaces that are totally within reach for students. It’s been really cool getting to explore that.” 

Russell highlights that “There are a lot of really cool parks and public art pieces around Corvallis that you can only really get to know and find by just going out there and seeing what’s out there.”

Another student gives her insight on other natural spaces that are worthwhile to visit as well, like the McDowell Creek Falls County Park. 

Ayiana Prevost, third year mechanical engineering major and the Hiking Club secretary says over email it was one of her favorite places that the club has gone to.

She says, “It’s a shorter hike that’s around 45 minutes away and it takes you through Royal Terrace Falls, Crystal Falls, and Majestic Falls. Definitely one of my favorite hikes ever and I highly recommend checking it out!”

Prevost emphasizes that, “More people should know about Fitton Green Natural Area, it’s a decently close drive from campus and my go-to sunset spot!” 

While she thinks Corvallis is lovely, she enjoys taking advantage of how close we are to the coast. 

“I love heading down to Newport and taking 101 up to Lincoln City, it’s a beautiful drive and there’s so many cool spots to stop by and check out on the way!”

Closing back on our campus, Russell mentions that students should look into the history of east campus, such as Community Hall. 

“Those areas can be really cool, just because there’s such historic older buildings, and there’s a lot of really interesting stuff to see there.” 

According to the Guides Library page, Community Hall was the first building OSU built in July of 1888, and it housed everything (classrooms, administrative offices, and lab spaces). 

It even held the library until 1918 and the president’s office until 1923. Today, it houses the music department which has been there since 1916.

Originally named Benton Hall, since 1947, the name changed to Community Hall in 2018 to recognize the community members within Benton county that helped create our college in the 1860s and 1870s.

There are even plenty of buildings that don’t exist anymore, like the Dairy Barn (1937-1967), Alpha Hall (1889-1912), Campus Court (1946-1973), Parker Stadium (1953-1999), and many more. Many buildings on campus have gone under various renovations, changes of name, and/or have been changed or gotten rid of entirely. 

To read more about these buildings, existing or not, use the OSU’s Library Guides page to learn more. 

Also historic and notable is the infamous Trysting Tree. The school’s Alma Mater, “Carry Me Back to OSU”, has a line about it: “I love to wander on the pathway, Down to the Trysting Tree” but what is a Trysting tree?

According to the page by the College of Agricultural Sciences – Department of Horticulture, they have a short history of the tree. The Trysting Tree is located southeast of Community Hall and is guessed to have been planted sometime between 1880 or 1885.

The page claims that an early alumnus said the tree got its name from its “magical effects on students, especially in the springtime.”

It goes on to read that, “The OSU Class of 1901 christened it as the ‘Trysting Tree’ after college President Thomas Gatch admonished two students for meeting there regularly for romantic purposes.”  

The tree you see there today, however, is dubbed the name “Trysting Tree II”, due to the original tree having “advanced disease in its trunk and limbs”. 

Before it was removed, Jack Stang from the Department of Horticulture took cuttings from the tree and rooted them.

These rootings became successful and one of the offshoots was planted on October 15, 1982 near the original Trysting Tree’s location.

“If you’re looking for cool places out in Corvallis just walk around for a few hours and just see what you find. Because this is a town that’s really rich with history and cool stories. I think that you can find them if you look in the right places,” Russell said. 

Too nervous to go out on your own to explore the obscure? Take a look at this link to find things to do on or off campus.