Benjamin Franklin Burch was born on May 2, 1825 in Carlton County, Missouri. In 1845, he crossed the plains to Oregon, settling in Polk County. He was a teacher in the first school in Polk County, one of the earliest schools in Oregon. Burch served in the Oregon Territory Volunteer Militia in the Cayuse and Yakima Indian wars and attained the rank of captain.
He was a delegate to the constitutional convention from Polk County in 1857 and served on the Military Affairs Committee and on a select committee with La Fayette Grover and James Kelly to create a design for the state seal. Burch was elected to serve in the state house of representatives during the first legislative session in 1859. Later he served in the state senate from 1867 to 1870, (senate president in the 1868 session.) In 1877 Burch was appointed superintendent of the state penitentiary by Governor Stephen F. Chadwick, serving two terms. Also in 1887 he was appointed receiver of the land offices in Oregon City by President Cleveland.
Burch was a charter member of the Masons lodge in Independence in 1859. Following his death in 1893, he was buried in a lodge ceremony at the Burch Pioneer Cemetery in Rickreall, Polk County, Oregon.
Text adapted partially from "Biographical Sketch of Benjamin F. Burch", an online exhibit of the Oregon State Archives, http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/exhibits/1857/during/bios/burch.htm
From the guide to the Burch Family Papers, 1821-1892, 1846-1858, (Western Oregon University Archives)
