December 9, 2015
At the center of the Philomath, Oregon, Police Department patch is the historic main building of Philomath College, today the Benton County Historical Museum. The college, open from 1865 to 1929, derived its name from two Greek words meaning “lover of learning.” The city of Philomath grew around the campus, sharing its name, and was incorporated in 1882. Through much of the 20th century the city was a major logging and lumbering center, represented via the cluster of trees on the police department patch. Above the trees and building is a silhouette of Marys Peak, the tallest mountain in the Oregon Coast Range, located 15 miles southwest of Philomath.