HISTORY OF SALEM

THE STATE CAPITAL CITY

Salem is situated in the center of the fertile Willamette Valley. Native Americans began inhabiting this Valley about 10,000 years ago harvesting camas roots and berries and hunting game. The name of the local Indians was “ Kalapuya”. The Indian name for the locality was “Chemeketa” said to mean “meeting or resting place”.

The trappers arrived in the early 1800’s and some remained and turned to farming its rich soil. In 1834, missionary leader Jason Lee came to minister to the Native Americans. In 1840-1841 the Jason Lee Mission was moved from the Willamette River and his group built a combination sawmill and gristmill on what is now Mill Creek. In 1842, they founded the first institution of learning west of the Rockies, the Oregon Institute, which is now known as Willamette University. The townsite was laid out on the Institute land after the mission dissolved in 1844. The missionaries named the new town “Salem”, an anglicized form of the Hebrew word “shalom” meaning peace.

Shortly afterwards, the U. S. government made treaties with the Kalapuyas, whose population had been declining since the 1780’s due to disease and the loss of their traditional ways. The treaties required the Kalupuyas to move onto reservations in the coastal range.

Starting in 1843, thousands of settlers traveled overland on the Oregon Trail hoping to start a new life in the fabled Willamette Valley, a new “Eden”. The Donation Land Law promised 320 acres of free land for each resident. Coming from the economically depressed Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio River valleys, many of the pioneers came with their families to start a new and better life in a healthier climate, Most of the families were neither rich nor poor, most Protestant; most had remarkably similar values. Farms were established; trees were planted and roads to the mountains and through the passes were roughed out. Religious leaders were sent for to provide comfort and counsel to settlers.

When gold was discovered in California in 1848, the Willamette Valley provided wheat, timber and goods to be shipped by steamboat on the rivers to Portland and then to California and foreign ports. Salem was among the towns that profited. And it grew, adding roads, woolen and flourmills, businesses and housing along a broad river terrace. Salem became a place where one might find a clap board house surrounded by a split rail fence to keep out the cattle instead of a primitive log cabin. To make living easier residents could order household goods such as a cookstove, a sewing machine, chairs and dishes from the East.

In 1861 Salem survived a devastating flood that wiped out many of the other towns in the valley. The telegraph arrived in the Willamette Valley in 1864. News – such as the end of the Civil War – could now reach Salem from the East Coast within minutes instead of months via covered wagon. In 1870, train service from Portland to Salem began. And in 1886 the first bridge across the Willamette River was constructed.

By the 1880’s the town founders likened their town to a quiet New England Country Village with all the civic institutions to insure law and order. Churches were established and stately public buildings were built. The State Capitol was its most important building. Tree-lined streets were planned and baseball parks were added. A few stately mansions were built. Asahel Bush II, founder of the first newspaper and bank in Salem built his home on Mission Street south of town. Literary and natural history societies and musical and fraternal organizations were formed. The Reed Opera House featured Shakespearean plays and concerts. Outdoor enthusiasts enjoyed fishing, hunting, and sailing. Families traveled up the Santiam canyon to picnic in the woods along the river. The State Fair featured horse racing.

From its beginnings the citizens of Salem have reflected an interest in civic matters. The “Salem Clique” was a powerful influence in the development of the Oregon Territory. The location of the capital of Oregon was fiercely debated. First located in Oregon City the capitol was finally and permanently shifted to Salem in 1864.

Today, Oregon’s capitol building (erected in Salem in 1938 after devastating fire twice destroyed previous structures) stands in the heart of the city. One of the most beautiful capitols in the nation the four story white marble building with its Modern Greek style architecture is surrounded by a stately park. Atop the tower is a 23-foot golden statue representing the “Oregon Pioneer” overlooking the Capitol Mall. The main entrance contains a rotunda 106 feet in height and large murals depicting Oregon history.

Salem is the second largest city in the state, with a population of 140,000 people, It is also the county seat of Marion County, but a small portion contained within its corporate limits of 46.57 square miles lies across the river in Polk County. Salem is situated in the center of the Willamette Valley-one of the most fertile regions in the nation. Since the 1900’s Salem has diversified its agriculture to include hops, berries, fruits, flowers, grass seed and extend its trade shipping around the world.
The lumber industry is still a factor in Salem’s economy. In recent years tourism and new technology has grown important to Salem. State government still represents the largest employer in the city.