Oregon's capital · On the Willamette
Neil Madison
A life in Salem, Oregon — and a personal tour through the history of the city on the Willamette, from the Kalapuya villages to the golden pioneer above the Capitol.
- Home
- Salem, Oregon
- Region
- Willamette Valley, Marion County
- Focus
- Local history & the river city
About
Hello from the Willamette
My name is Neil Madison, and this site is my home on the web — a place to introduce myself and to share the city I live in.
I'm drawn to Salem the way many people are drawn to a good story: it starts quietly, on a bend of the Willamette River, and keeps unfolding. This site gathers what I love about it — the river that shaped the town, the cherry trees, the university that predates the city's name, and the statehouse at its heart.
Scroll down for a short history of Salem, a few landmarks I never get tired of, and a note on how to reach me.
The history of Salem
From Chemeketa to the capital
Salem is one of Oregon's oldest cities. Its story begins with the Kalapuya, runs through the missionary era and the naming of the town, and ends — for now — with the golden Oregon Pioneer watching over the State Capitol.
Kalapuya era
The first residents
Long before there was a town, the Kalapuya people lived in and traveled through the Willamette Valley, meeting and trading on the prairie lands along the river that would one day become Salem.
1834
Jason Lee arrives
The Methodist missionary Jason Lee reached the Willamette Valley and helped establish one of the earliest American settlements in the Oregon Country, near the Kalapuyan village of Tchimikiti.
1842
The Oregon Institute
Missionaries founded the Oregon Institute on the mission lands. It grew into Willamette University, still part of Salem's downtown today.
1846
A name that means peace
William Willson renamed the town Chemeketa to Salem — a form of the Hebrew word shalom, meaning peace. The early town was laid out around Mill Creek and the mission lands.
1857
Incorporated
Salem was officially incorporated, already serving as the seat of Marion County and, soon after, the territorial capital.
1864
The capital, at last
After a spirited contest that lasted nearly fifteen years, Oregon's voters chose Salem as the permanent state capital by popular vote.
1938
The modern State Capitol
Today's State Capitol rose in 1938, capped by the gilded Oregon Pioneer statue that still stands above the city.
Landmarks
Places worth knowing
Oregon State Capitol
The 1938 art-deco Capitol, with the Oregon Pioneer statue gilded against the sky.
Willamette University
Founded in 1842 as the Oregon Institute — one of the oldest universities in the American West, right in downtown Salem.
Cherry City springs
Salem's orchard roots earned it the nickname "Cherry City," and every spring the blossoms return along the river and Capitol Mall.
The Willamette River
Salem grew on the banks of the Willamette, straddling the river between Marion and Polk counties at the 45th parallel.