Salem, Oregon

Salem is the capital of the state of Oregon. The city’s proximity to both the ocean and to the mountains, and the fact it is within an hour’s drive of 70 percent of the state’s population, make the capital an excellent location for businesses. The growth of the city has also been aided by its reputation as an outdoor destination and the surrounding agricultural region.

Landscape

Salem is built on both sides of the Willamette River in the Willamette River Valley’s north-central area. The city is built around rolling hills with flat valleys, in a mix of farmland and wooded areas. It is equidistant to the Cascade Range on the east and the Coast Range on the west. The city of Portland is 43 miles to the northeast. Salem is 150 feet above sea level.

Because Salem is a river city, it is subject to flooding. The city was inundated in 1861 with one of the worst floods in recorded history. Another major flood occurred in 1890. However, the risk of floods diminished with the construction of Detroit Dam and other dams during the 1950s. Despite these efforts, an extra tropical cyclone hit on Columbus Day in 1962, causing more than $4 million dollars in damage. Also, in 1964, the Willamette River flooded twice, following record amounts of rain that preceded near-record snowfall.

The city is known for its rain, with some of the nation’s heaviest rainfall. In the mountains around the city, as much as 170 inches fall annually. On the valley floor, the amount is about 40 inches of rain, most of it occurring in the winter. July is typically the driest month.

Neither winter nor summer typically experiences extreme temperatures. In January, the average low is 35 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) and the average high is 48 degrees Fahrenheit (9 degrees Celsius); in July, the average high is 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) and the average low is 53 degrees (12 degrees Celsius).

People

Salem was the state’s second-largest city as of 2022; however, the population of Eugene, Oregon, is close to and has occasionally surpassed that of Salem. In 2022, according to estimates from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, Salem had a population of 177,487. In 2022, 22.8 percent of the city’s population identified as having Hispanic or Latin origins. Approximately 65.2 percent of the city’s residents were white, 3.3 percent were Asian, 1.5 percent were Black, and 1.2 percent are American Indian. The percent of foreign-born citizens during 2018–2022 was 11.6 percent. 21.8 percent of the population spoke a language other than English at home.

Salem has higher-than-average rates of both families and individuals living below the poverty level, with 14.6 percent of the population living below the poverty line in 2022. It also has lower-than-average median income in three areas: per capita, household, and family income.

Economy

Once a city known for its lumber and textile industries, Salem has diversified into metal fabrication and electronics. According to the city manager's office, industries with the greatest number of employees in 2022 were educational and health services, state government, and local government and schools. Leading employers include the state and the health care centers at Salem Health/Salem Hospital.

Like the rest of the nation, Salem was negatively affected by the 2008–2009 financial crisis. The unemployment rate hit double digits in January 2009 and grew during the first quarter. Education, health care, and government were the only categories that did not experience negative growth compared to the previous year, posting small gains. By December 2023, the unemployment rate was at 3.9 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To boost the economy with green jobs and improve the environment, Repower Oregon 2009 launched in Salem in January 2009. The group introduced legislation to support clean energy technology and to create jobs. In addition, the laws would help to meet state targets for reducing pollution that contributes to global warming.

Landmarks

The prominent architect W. C. Knighton designed the Deepwood House and Estate, a Queen Anne–style home, in 1894. (Knighton later designed the state’s Supreme Court building.) The house still has its original period electric lighting fixtures. Lord & Schryver, the first woman-owned landscape architecture firm in the Northwest, created English gardens for the estate during the 1930s. The estate, which covers more than 5 acres, includes a nature trail.

The Asahel Bush House, a museum since 1953, was built in 1877 and 1878. The Victorian home remained in the Bush family for seventy-five years. Mr. Bush was founder of both a newspaper and a bank. The barn on the property is now a community arts center; a city park graces the open pasture land surrounding the house.

Thomas Kay Woolen Mill, established in 1889, was only one of several mills in the region. Still open as a museum as part of the Willamette Heritage Center, the mill demonstrates the process of making wool. The grounds of the Mission Mill Museum include not only the 1898 Thomas Kay Woolen Mill, but also other historic buildings of the nineteenth century. The Methodist Parsonage and Jason Lee House, both built in 1841, and the John D. Boon House, constructed six years later, are also on the grounds. Various exhibits on water power and textiles are there as well.

Built in 1925 and 1926 on the site of what had been a livery stable, the Elsinore Theatre was named for the castle in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Fittingly, the theater is designed in Tudor Gothic to complement the prominent architectural style of the Shakespearian period. The lobby features a vaulted ceiling, which has been painted to resemble a night sky. The murals also depict scenes from Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. Twelve stained glass windows feature characters from Macbeth and Hamlet.

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art, opened in 1998 and located on Willamette University’s campus, supports the university’s liberal arts program and is also a resource for Salem. Emphasizing regional art, the museum features both contemporary and historical works of art. One specialty is the Native American collection. The Ford Family Foundation, through the generosity of Hallie Ford, donated money for the construction of the museum in the former US West Communications building.

History

The Kalapuya tribe was among Salem’s earliest inhabitants. The region provided plenty of fish, games, berries, and fruits, and was a site of winter camps for thousands of years. The Kalapuya name for the area was Chemeketa, a word meaning “place of rest.”

In 1812, agents of the fur trading companies in Astoria came to the area to trap and to gather food. They built a trapping house and log cabin. When Jason Lee led Methodist missionaries to the region in 1840, they gave it the name Salem, from the Hebrew word meaning “peace.” Four years later a settlement was planned.

By selling home sites, the missionaries gained financial backing for Oregon Institute, founded in 1842, which grew into Willamette University, the west’s first university. Lee and his group also built a sawmill. Nearly half the population of Salem left during the 1840s to prospect for gold in California.

With growth spurred by the wagon train traffic on the Oregon Trail, the city became the territorial capital in 1851. Four years later, settlers formed the first public school district. In 1857 the city was chartered. On February 14, 1859, Oregon became a state, and in 1864, by popular vote, Salem became the state capital. During its early years, Salem was a river port. The railroad arrived in the 1870s, further accelerating growth.

Women received the right to vote in Oregon in 1912. Women were instrumental in getting funding from Andrew Carnegie for a public library in Salem. They also helped to found Deaconess Hospital, which became the current Salem Hospital.

On April 12, 1935, the State Capitol was ablaze, the second time the capitol was destroyed by fire. (The first capitol burned in December 1855, after less than a month of use.) Efforts of firefighters to save the sandstone and brick building failed. Most records were lost, as were oil paintings belonging to the governor. The third and present capitol was built in the modernistic style between 1936 and 1938.

The city had begun to recover from the Great Depression when it celebrated its centennial in 1940. Soldiers based at Camp Adair, a military training facility located nearby, came to Salem during the war. By 1943, the food supply in the United States was in jeopardy because so many men were involved in World War II.

From 1943 until 1947, the Oregon State College Extension Service helped place more than 900,000 workers on farms. These included migrant workers from Jamaica and Mexico, women and youth, and German prisoners of war. The nation’s Bracero program also brought more than 15,000 Mexican men to Oregon farms. Window displays in Salem aided in recruiting women for the Women’s Land Army, whose members worked on a daily basis in canneries as well as on farms.

With the postwar growth of the suburbs and an increased unwillingness to endure the fumes of the paper mills, the downtown area declined. Efforts begun in 1968 with the passage of a bond issue for a new civic center began the revitalization of the area. Two years later, a study of the downtown area led to a riverfront park and sky bridges.

Trivia

• Future president Herbert Hoover grew up in Salem, where he worked for the Oregon Land Company as an office boy.
• Atop the state capitol is a gold-leaf covered pioneer statue that is 23 feet tall and weighs 8.5 tons.
• Near Salem, 90 percent of the world’s Marionberries are grown. A Marionberry is a type of blackberry named for the county in which it was first developed.

Bibliography

City of Salem. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report: For Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2023; City of Salem, Oregon, 2023, www.cityofsalem.net/citydocuments/comprehensive-annual-financial-report-fy-18.pdf. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024.

"Economy at a Glance: Salem, OR." Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor, www.bls.gov/eag/eag.or‗salem‗msa.htm. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024.

Mahoney, Barbara S. The Salem Clique: Oregon’ Founding Brothers. Oregon State UP, 2017.

McArthur, Scott, editor. Ben Maxwell’s Salem, Oregon: Nuggets of History from the Salem Capital Journal. S. McArthur, 2006.

"Salem (City), Oregon." QuickFacts, US Census Bureau, 2022, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/salemcityoregon/RHI725221. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024.

“Salem City, Oregon.” United States Census Bureau, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/salemcityoregon/PST045218. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024.

Stein, Harry H. Salem: A Pictorial History of Oregon’s Capital. Donning, 1998.