The Horner Museum opened in 1925 as part of Oregon Agricultural College, now known as Oregon State University. It was the vision of Professor John B. Horner and College Dean Bexell. Years before its opening, Horner assembled artifacts of global and natural history from his many contacts throughout Oregon. The majority of these came from private collectors and a variety of OSU departments that contained their own research specimens.

The museum was originally housed in the library’s basement—now known as Kidder Hall—but made several moves over the decades to accommodate expansion. It finally ended up in the basement of Gill Colosseum, where thousands of OSU students passed through it as part of their orientation to the University. The Horner Museum is still remembered fondly by many of our constituents and is deeply rooted in the history of Benton County and our organization, the Benton County Historical Society.

When the Horner Museum closed in the late 1990s, the nearly 60,000 artifacts in its possession were put into storage. After a long negotiation, those artifacts were transferred to the Benton County Historical Society. They are now housed and cared for in the Johnson Collections Center with select artifacts on display in both the Corvallis and Philomath Museums.