Archives West Finding Aid

William Franklin Groves, also known as Frank William Groves, was born on March 17, 1878 to William Frank Groves and Emma Keziah (Horning) Groves in Corvallis, Oregon. After William and Emma’s wedding in 1865, William Groves took over operation of Emma’s father’s mill, the F.A. Horning carding mill (carding is a process by which raw wool is brushed, sorted, and rolled to prepare it for spinning). The mill closed in 1900 due to competition from large factories in the area that were able to produce ready-made wool more quickly by using machinery that combined the processes of carding, spinning, and weaving.

William Franklin Groves graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in 1897 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He stayed in Corvallis for the rest of his life, working as both a horticulturist and firefighter. In 1910 he purchased and expanded the home of his maternal grandfather, Frederick Augustus Horning, and continued to maintain the property, which was across town from the original site of the mill and farm. In 1973 the farmland was designated as a Century Farm by the Oregon Century Farm and Ranch Program (the land had been in the Groves family since Horning’s 640-acre donation land claim in 1850). Upon Horning’s death, the land was split among his 11 children; William Franklin Groves assumed responsibility of his mother’s 70 acre inheritance, continuing to use the land to cultivate prunes, apples, and walnuts.

In the 1930s, Groves took an interest in the management of Marys Peak summit and successfully campaigned for the use of public funds to purchase the previously privately owned summit and open it for public use. He subsequently volunteered on a commission to further the development of Marys Peak as a site for recreation for nearly 20 years.

William Franklin Groves never married but cared for his mother Emma and sisters, Lillie May, Jessie Willete, and Edna, throughout their lives. William Franklin Groves died on August 18, 1973 in Corvallis.