His home, now known as the G.W. Bethers House on the Register of Historic Places, was in need of remodeling when he moved in. When he tore into the walls, he found newspapers used for insulation from the 1880s.
After discovering the newspapers, he took them to the Benton County Historical Society. They were from Dayton, Ohio, which seemed strange to Ramsey, but not to the historian who saw them. The house, it seemed was one of the town’s original homes, from a time when Philomath was known as Mary’s River Settlement.
As Ramsey soon learned, pioneers who began to settle in the West wrote to those they left behind. G.W. Bethers arrived in the 1850s, and as an active member of his Ohio-based Brethren church, he wrote his pastor about the fertile land with the river passage-way that would make for a great townsite.
The pastor published Bethers’ letter in the The Religious Telescope — the same name on the newspapers found in Ramsey’s home. In response to the published letter, 96 people and 13 wagons headed west to the Mary’s River Settlement.
They would become the people who laid the foundation of the town we know today.
Lovers of learning
The settlers embodied a love of learning, the meaning of “Philomath” translated from Greek. They built the Philomath College on Main Street in 1867— familiar to residents today as the museum, which is also on the Register of Historic Places.
Although most the townspeople had shared the same ideals decades before, in the 1880s there was a schism in the church that divided the town into “radicals” and “liberals.”
The radicals believed secret societies, specifically freemasons, should not be allowed in the church. Radicals also believed that teaching science conflicted with many of their religious beliefs. The liberals believed the opposite.
The division of the church and the townspeople led to a new college built by the radicals. Opened in 1889, it was called the College of Philomath. Although the first two buildings burned, the third schoolhouse, built in 1909, still stands today on 10th Street and Pioneer.
According to school records, after serving at least 399 students, the College of Philomath closed in 1913. Philomath College followed in 1929.
Operating within eyesight of each other, both colleges were plagued with financial problems and recruitment issues. Their closures led to students enrolling elsewhere, many to Oregon Agricultural College, that would later become Oregon State University.
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| Although the bell tower is restored, the portico is still missing on the front of the building. |
Preserving history
After Ramsey learned of the town’s history, his house was added to the national registry in 1997. A few years later, he learned that the former College of Philomath was for sale. He feared someone would buy and destroy it.
“In terms of the building, it has great significance to the community,” said Benton County Historian Mary Gallagher. “Certainly getting this house on the national registry would be significant for the town.”
Ramsey told local philanthropist Andrew Martin about his concerns. Martin purchased the $340,000 property and gifted it to what would become the College of Philomath Community Corporation (CPCC). The deal was made on a 20 year loan in which CPCC would pay back the funds. Ramsey was named president.
“I had no idea I would become the town’s history buff, it just happened that way,” said Ramsey. “I like the building, I love the history of it.”
Today, the College of Philomath building houses five tenants. The apartments are in each of the five former classrooms with 14-foot ceilings and 4-foot hallways connecting them — just as they were a century ago.
The CPCC found after applying for nine grants, which were all denied, that in order to receive funds to restore the building it must be out-right owned. The idea is to use rent from tenants to pay down what is still owed.
“We’re down to $140,000, and once we get it down or somebody comes along with the money, we’ll apply for more grants,” Ramsey said.
In the interim, the CPCC still plans “to renovate the College of Philomath building in a historically sensitive way that preserves the building’s historic charm,” according to their mission statement. After renovation, they will convert it to a full-service senior center.
The project, including evolutionary changes required for a community building, is estimated to cost $1.6 million. Of that, $500,000 is the cost of the senior center’s required adaptations such as an elevator for handicap access, a full-service kitchen, HVAC, and sprinklers.
Ramsey is in the process of getting the building on the registry after completion of the missing bell tower, made possible by a Ford Family Grant of $75,000.
Current CPCC board members include Maggie Sweetin, Jay Sexton, Toni Hoyman and Scott Ramsey. They are seeking additional board members or grant writers that can assist in applying for grants that may become available after successful registry as a historic place.
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