William F. Dixon
Sept. 1, 1899; Oregonian, p 6 (portrait sketch)
"William F. Dixon Dead"
Corvallis, Or., Aug. 31

   William F. Dixon, who settled in 1845 where Corvallis now stands, and on whose homestead a portion of the city is located, died yesterday morning in his 89th year. He was buried at 8 o'clock this afternoon in the Henderson cemetery, seven miles southwest of Corvallis.

   Mr. Dixon established the first ferry across the Willamette south of Salem. This was in 1848, on almost the identical site of the present Corvallis ferry. Fifty years ago he began the manufacture of fanning mills and chairs for the newly arrived immigrants, the first for cleaning wheat threshed by flair or the tramp of horses' hoofs, and the second to take the place of wooden stools and benches in the scantily furnished pioneer homes. Both were in great demand, and settlers all over the Valley came to the Dixon shop for mills and furniture. Many of these articles are still cherished as relics in numerous Oregon homes.

   Mr. Dixon's wife was the first white woman to settle, and his son, Cyrus Dixon, the first white child to be born in Corvallis. The only other inhabitant of the locality when Mr. Dixon arrived with his family in 1845 was J. C. Avery, who died in June, 1876. It was on the donation land claims of the two that Corvallis originally named Marysville, was built. The two gave 40 acres of land each for the construction of the original county courthouse. This land is now the county addition to Corvallis.

   Mr. Dixon gave land for the site of, and was a heavy contributor to, the original Methodist church, built in this city in 1855. He was an incorporator and a trustee of the Corvallis seminary, established in 1854, which has since grown into the Oregon agricultural college.

   Mr. Dixon was born in Worchester, now Wyoming county, Maryland, February 20, 1811. He lived on the family homestead until he was 22 years of age, and then went to Dearborn county, Indiana. There he married Miss Julia A. Rounds, and after six years moved to Clark county, Missouri. In the spring of 1845 he joined a large emigration train bound for Oregon. His family consisted then of wife and three children, and he traveled with an ox-team. The journey lasted six months. After a short stop at Tualatin plains, Mr. Dixon came to Corvallis and settled. Save a short trip of a few months to California in 1849, he resided continuously in this locality for 54 years. He was a man of great industry. Within a week of his death, he repaired a cart that he built many years ago for his son. He was of a retiring disposition, and, though often urged, he never accepted public office.