Corvallis was named for the town of Corvallis, Oregon, by the settlers who came from that area. The two French words: coeur, meaning heart, and valle, meaning valley, made the original name. In 1869, a Frenchman, Herron, was the first to settle and build a house in the area. The first post office was established in 1870 with Tom Rollins as postmaster.
Corvallis is located in southwestern Montana, between Stevensville and Hamilton, in the Bitterroot Valley on U.S. Highway 93.