Culver was first a stage stop near Haystack Reservoir and is named for its first postmaster, O.G. Collver. With the coming of the railroad, the town site was moved to its present location. When the governor issued a proclamation establishing Jefferson County in 1914, he also appointed a three man county court. They were to pick a temporary county seat. After twenty ballots in two days which all ended in one vote each for Culver, Metolius and Madras, the Metolius Commissioner cast his vote for Culver.
At the general election in 1916, Madras was voted in as the permanent county seat for the county, but Culver has the distinction of being the first Jefferson County seat. The building that housed the courthouse still stands today.
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