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James Withycombe was born in Tavistock, England on March 21^st, 1854 to parents Thomas and Mary Ann Withycombe. Withycombe grew up with five siblings on their parents' farm. In 1871, he immigrated to the United States with his family. He and his family settled outside of Hillsboro, Oregon. In 1875, he purchased a 100-acre wheat field for fifteen dollars an acre. After purchasing this land, he decided to move away from wheat and plant multiple different crops on his piece of land. This decision made him the first farmer in the area to practice diversified farming. On June of the same year, he married Isabel Carpenter.

In 1889, James Withycombe became the state veterinarian for Oregon. He was offered this position, even though he had only taken one veterinary class while he lived in England. He held this position until 1898, when he became a professor of agriculture at Oregon Agricultural College.  In 1908, Withycombe was appointed Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station; he also served as Head of the Dairy Husbandry Department. Withycombe was never formally trained in agriculture, but his experience as an innovative farmer influenced his appointment to these positions which he held for 16 years until he became governor on January 23^rd, 1915. He remained the Governor of Oregon until his death on March 3^rd, 1919.

James’ son Thomas Robert Withycombe (known as Robert) graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in 1901 with an undergraduate degree in agriculture; he served as Superintendent of the Eastern Oregon Experiment Station in Union from 1906 to 1931.

The Withycombe House on Monroe Avenue in Corvallis was purchased by Oregon Agricultural College from the Withycombe family in about 1917 and served as a Home Management House for several decades.

Withycombe Hall on the Corvallis campus was named for James Withycombe at the time of its construction in 1952.