Benton County, Oregon

Benton County is a located in the  of. The after, a  who advocated U.S. control over the. In 2000, the county's population was 78,153. It is coextensive with the Corvallis. Its is.

Economy
Along with, , , , and some printing technology research and development form the economic base of the county. A substantial portion of the nation's research in, agriculture, , and  takes place at OSU.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,759 (679 ). 1,752 km² (676 sq mi) of it is land and 6 km² (3 sq mi) of it (0.37%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * - (north)
 * - (west)
 * - (east)
 * - (south)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 78,153 people, 30,145 households, and 18,237 families residing in the county. The was 45/km² (116/sq mi). There were 31,980 housing units at an average density of 18/km² (47/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 89.16%, 0.84% or , 0.79% , 4.49% , 0.24% , 1.92% from , and 2.56% from two or more races. 4.66% of the population were or  of any race. 91.1% spoke, 4.1% and 1.0%  as their first language.

There were 30,145 households out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.40% were living together, 7.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.50% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out with 21.30% under the age of 18, 20.20% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,897, and the median income for a family was $56,319. Males had a median income of $42,018 versus $29,795 for females. The for the county was $21,868. About 6.80% of families and 14.60% of the population were below the, including 10.60% of those under age 18 and 4.90% of those age 65 or over.

Benton County has the lowest church attendance per capita of any county in the nation (25% attendance).

Founding
Benton County was created from by an act of the Provisional Government of Oregon in 1847. The county was created out of an area originally inhabited by the, who rented it from the s for use as hunting grounds. All Indian claims to land within Benton County were ceded in the in.

At that time, the boundaries began at the intersection of Polk County and the, extended south as far as the border and as far west as the. Later, portions of Benton County were taken to form, , , , , and  Counties, leaving Benton County in its present form.

The city of Marysville, later renamed Corvallis, was made the county seat in 1851. In 1862 Corvallis became the site of the Oregon State Agricultural College, known today as.

21st century same-sex marriage controversy
Following their decision that the required them to issue, a decision   opposed in a letter to them, the Benton County Commissioners voted to stop issuing marriage licenses a week later on ,. Although the County Court in ruled on the matter, the county did not resume issuing marriage licenses. A couple sued the county,  to force it to resume issuing marriage licenses; the hearing was scheduled for ,.

Incorporated cities

 * , (small portion, most in Linn County)
 * , (small portion, most in Linn County)