Benton County's Griffins

 These two objects from the Benton County Historical Museums collection are depictions of griffins.

 These mythological beasts had the body, back legs, and tail of a lion and the head, wings, and talons of an eagle. They were regarded as especially powerful as the lion was considered the king of beasts and the eagle viewed as the king of birds.  In many old legends, they guarded treasures.

These cast-metal griffins once stood guard atop the door to the vault in the County Clerk's office in the Benton County Courthouse. It was installed when the courthouse was built in 1888. The photograph  below shows the vault door with griffins on the far wall, behind County Clerk Victor Moses, circa 1900.

The “treasure” the griffins guarded included deeds and other vital records, plus evidence to be used in court cases. 

The griffins were not some fanciful addition, but were part of the vault as shown in catalog page below, reprinted in the 100^th anniversary booklet about the courthouse, The Flight of Time.

 

The griffins were removed during the building renovations done in the 1950s.  Local resident Agnes Flint Eckman purchased them at that time and used them as patio ornaments before donating them to the museum.

By Martha Fraundorf, Volunteer for Benton County Historical Society, Philomath, Oregon