 In the summer of 1851, Joseph Avery and William Dixon each granted back-to-back 40-acre land parcels from their land holdings for the establishment of a county seat.Avery's holding lay to the south and Dixon's to the north, with the Benton County Courthouse marking the approximate line of demarcation between these two land parcels.In December 1853 the 5th Oregon Territorial Legislature met in Salem, where a petition was presented seeking to change the name of that city to either "Thurston" or "Valena".