Today, you probably saw that we published an extensive history of McDonald Forest. How it was founded, how it’s changed over the decades, and even some of what’s next. But we also wanted to offer you just a little deeper dive into Mary McDonald, for whom our favorite neighborhood forest is named.

And equally, we thought readers may appreciate a little more information about George W. Peavy, who first envisioned OSU’s research forests. In fact, the university’s network of forests started with the local arboretum that to this day bears his name. So, let’s get a brief bio of each.

Mary McDonald saw the damage of invasive species

Long before her name became part of Oregon State University’s landscape, Mary McDonald stood in a California pasture choked with tumbleweed.

In the early 1920s, land on the McDonald estate in California was showing signs of damage from Russian thistle, an invasive species threatening surrounding properties. The California Department of Agriculture hired George W. Peavy, then dean of forestry at Oregon Agricultural College (later Oregon State University), to assess the problem. Peavy determined that years of overgrazing had weakened native vegetation and recommended management changes that allowed the land to recover. The approach worked.

Grateful for Peavy’s expertise and interested in his practical, science-based approach to land stewardship, Mary McDonald made her first gift to Oregon Agricultural College in 1926. That gift marked the beginning of a lasting relationship rooted in a belief in the power of education.

Born Mary Julia Ledlie in 1848, McDonald came west as a teenager, eventually becoming a successful businesswoman overseeing agricultural, mining and timber interests in California and Oregon after the death of her husband, Captain James Monroe McDonald. She was deeply engaged in the intellectual life of her time and known for supporting universities, libraries and public institutions that advanced both science and the arts.

At Oregon Agricultural College, Dean Peavy and professor and alumnus T.J. Starker were working to establish an actively managed research and demonstration forest where students could learn in the field and research could inform forest practices across the Pacific Northwest.

Starker identified and negotiated land purchases, while Peavy coordinated donations and guided the vision. McDonald became a key benefactor in this effort.

Beginning in the mid-1920s, McDonald donated land in southern Oregon, which the college sold to help finance forest acquisitions near Corvallis, and provided direct financial support and scholarships for forestry students. By the time of her death in 1935, roughly 3,000 acres had been acquired for what would become the McDonald Forest. In her will, she left all her Oregon property to Oregon Agricultural College.

McDonald’s commitment to education extended beyond forests. In the early 1930s, she donated rare and finely bound books to the college, eventually funding the construction of the McDonald Rare Book Room, which opened in 1934.

Nearly a century later, Mary McDonald’s legacy lives on in the McDonald Forest, now managed in conjunction with the Dunn Forest as the McDonald-Dunn Research Forest.

George W. Peavy Thought Beyond the Classroom

When George W. Peavy arrived in Corvallis in 1910 to head the newly created Department of Forestry at Oregon Agricultural College, he brought with him a belief that would define forestry education at the school: students needed forests to learn in, not just classrooms to learn from.

At the time, forestry was still an emerging discipline. Peavy became the first dean of the School of Forestry in 1913 and would serve in that role until his retirement in 1940. From the outset, he pushed for an approach grounded in hands-on, field-based learning. He believed forestry education should unfold over decades, shaped by real forests that could be studied, managed and observed over time.

That vision took physical form in 1924 with the purchase of land northwest of Corvallis, now known as Peavy Arboretum. Conceived as an outdoor classroom, the arboretum allowed students to study forest growth, management and experimentation in real time.

Peavy’s influence extended beyond a single forest. With the support of patrons such as Mary McDonald, Peavy helped secure the future of forestry education at Oregon State. Alongside early faculty member and alumnus T.J. Starker, he was a driving force behind the acquisition of land that would become the McDonald-Dunn Research Forest.

During his three decades leading forestry research and instruction, Peavy attracted broad support for conservation and education. Though most at home in forest settings and forester’s attire, he was equally known for appearing formally dressed in lecture halls and auditoriums, delivering compelling speeches about the importance of forest conservation to audiences ranging from loggers to lawmakers.

That same dedication to stewardship would soon shape his next chapter. Peavy was appointed president of Oregon State College, guiding the institution from 1934 to 1940 through the challenges of the Great Depression and the early years of the Oregon State System of Higher Education. He also served for three decades on the State Board of Forestry and remained active in numerous civic and professional organizations.

After retiring from OSU, Peavy continued his service to Corvallis and was elected mayor in 1947, a position he held until his death on June 24, 1951, at the age of 81.

Today, Peavy’s name is woven throughout Oregon State University and the College of Forestry, from Peavy Arboretum to Peavy Forest Science Center. His legacy lives in the forests that continue to grow, change and teach, just as he envisioned more than a century ago.