Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of Marion County. It is located in the center of the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the eas ...

alongside the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...

, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places * Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missour ...

counties, and the city neighborhood of West Salem is in Polk County. Salem was founded in 1842, became the capital of the Oregon Territory in 1851, and was incorporated in 1857. Salem had a population of 174,365 in 2019, making it the third-largest city in the state after Portland and Eugene. Salem is the principal city of the

Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area The Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a Metropolitan Statistical Area consisting of two counties in western Oregon, Marion and Polk. The principal city is Salem, the state capital, which ...

, a

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

that covers Marion and Polk counties and had a combined population of 390,738 at the 2010 census. A 2019 estimate placed the metropolitan population at 400,408, the state's second largest. This area is, in turn, part of the Portland-Vancouver-Salem

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...

. The city is home to Willamette University, Corban University, and

Chemeketa Community College Chemeketa Community College is a public community college in Salem, Oregon, with a campus in McMinnville, and education centers in Dallas, Brooks, and Woodburn. In addition, the college has a Center for Business and Industry in downtown Salem ...

. The State of Oregon is the largest public employer in the city, and Salem Health is the largest private employer. Transportation includes public transit from Cherriots (legally known as Salem Area Mass Transit District), Amtrak service, and non-commercial air travel at McNary Field. Major roads include Interstate 5, Oregon Route 99E, and Oregon Route 22, which connects West Salem across the Willamette River via the Marion Street and Center Street bridges.

History

Origin of name

The Native Americans who inhabited the central Willamette Valley at first European contact, the Kalapuya, called the area Chim-i-ki-ti, which means "meeting or resting place" in the Central Kalapuya language (Santiam). When the Methodist Mission moved to the area, they called the new establishment Chemeketa; although it was more widely known as the Mill, because of its situation on Mill Creek. When the

Oregon Institute The Oregon Institute was an American school located in the Willamette Valley of the Oregon Country during the 19th century. Begun in 1842, it was the first school built for European Americans west of Missouri. Founded by members of the Methodist Mi ...

was established, the community became known as the institute. When the institute was dissolved, the trustees decided to lay out a town site on the Institute lands. Some possible sources for the name "Salem" include William H. Willson, who in 1850 and 1851 filed the plans for the main part of the city, and suggested adopting an Anglicized version of the

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew (, or , ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite branch of Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Israel, roughly west of t ...

word "שָׁלוֹם, Shalom", meaning "peace" (as well as "hello" and "goodbye"). The Reverend David Leslie, President of the town's Trustees, also wanted a Biblical name, and suggested using the last five letters of "Jerusalem". Or, the town may be named after

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the ...

, where Leslie was educated. There were many names suggested, and even after the change to Salem, some people, such as Asahel Bush (editor of the ''Oregon Statesman''), believed the name should be changed back to Chemeketa. The Vern Miller Civic Center, which houses the city offices and library, has a public space dedicated as the ''Peace Plaza'' in recognition of the names by which the city has been known.

Europeans

The first people of European descent arrived in the area as early as 1812; they were animal trappers and food gatherers for the fur trading companies in

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...

. The first permanent American settlement in the area was the

Jason Lee Jason Lee may refer to: Entertainment *Jason Lee (actor) (born 1970), American film and TV actor and former professional skateboarder *Jason Scott Lee (born 1966), Asian American film actor * Jaxon Lee (Jason Christopher Lee, born 1968), American v ...

Methodist mission (1840) located in the area north of Salem known as Wheatland. In 1842, the missionaries established the

(the forerunner of Willamette University) in the area that was to become the site of Salem. In 1844, the mission was dissolved and the town site established. In 1851, Salem became the territorial capital after it was moved from

Oregon City ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

. The capital was moved briefly to Corvallis in 1855, but was moved back to Salem permanently that same year. Salem incorporated as a city in 1857, and with the coming of statehood in 1859, it became the state capital.

Capitol buildings

Oregon has had three capitol buildings in Salem. A two-story state house, which had been occupied for only two months, burned to the ground in December 1855. Oregon's second capitol building was completed in 1876 on the site of the original. The Revival-style building was based in part on the

U.S. Capitol building The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...

. The building received its distinctive copper dome in 1893. On April 25, 1935, this building was also destroyed by fire. The third and current

Oregon State Capitol The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the Oregon Legislative Assembly, state legislature and the offices of the Governor of Oregon, governor, Oregon Secretary of State, secretary of state, and Oregon State Treasurer, treasurer of the ...

was completed on the same site in 1938. It is recognizable by its distinctive pioneer statue atop the capitol dome that is plated with gold-leaf and officially named the '' Oregon Pioneer''.

State fair and cherry festival

Agriculture has always been important to Salem, and the city has historically recognized and celebrated it in a number of ways. In 1861, Salem was chosen as the permanent site of the Oregon State Fair by the Oregon State Agricultural Association.Heine, Steven Rober
M1 ''The Oregon State Fair Images of America''
Arcadia Publishing August 20, 2007 Salem is nicknamed the "Cherry City", because of the past importance of the local

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The n ...

-growing industry. The first cherry festival in Salem was held in 1903 and was an annual event, with parades and the election of a cherry queen, until sometime after World War I. The event was briefly revived as the Salem Cherryland Festival for several years in the late 1940s.

Geography and climate

Salem is located in the north-central

, in Marion and

counties. The 45th Parallel (roughly the halfway point between the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...

and the

Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can also ...

) passes through Salem's city limits. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Although the

flows through Salem, the

North Santiam River The North Santiam River is a tributary of the Santiam River in western Oregon in the United States. It drains of the Cascade Range on the eastern side of the Willamette Valley east of Salem. It rises in the high Cascades in eastern Linn county ...

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

is Salem's primary drinking water source. Other important streams that pass through Salem are Mill Creek, the Mill Race, Pringle Creek, and Shelton Ditch. Smaller streams in the southern and southeastern parts of the city include Clark Creek, Jory Creek, Battle Creek, Croisan Creek, and Claggett Creek, while Glen Creek and Brush Creek flow through West Salem. Elevation within the city limits ranges from about . Salem contains the volcanic Salem Hills in the south and is sandwiched by the Eola Hills directly to the west and the Waldo Hills to the east. Northern and eastern Salem are less hilly. South and West Salem contain some canyons and are the hilliest areas. The coast range and the Cascades—including Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, and on the clearest of days, Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams in Washington—can be viewed from throughout the city. Like most of the Willamette Valley area, Salem has a

mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

climate ( Köppen ''Csb''). Rain is heaviest in late fall and throughout winter, and almost all of the annual precipitation falls between October and April, with a dry season from May through September. Light snowfall occurs in winter, but major snows are rare. Mostly cloudy skies and low cloud ceilings are commonplace during the rainy season. Salem's mean annual temperature is ; its annual precipitation is , with an average of snow included. However, over a quarter of years receive no snowfall. The state capital is about south of Portland, but actually has a lower average temperature than that of Portland (), due in part to the lower daily minima. All-time extremes in Salem range from to . The coldest afternoon of the year usually falls to on the freezing point, whereas the coldest recorded maximum temperature was in three separate months and years. The warmest night on record was in July 2006 and the warmest annual night averages .

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 154,637 people, 57,290 households, and 36,261 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 61,276 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 79.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 1.5%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.5% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 0.9%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 10.1% from other races, and 4.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 20.3% of the population. There were 57,290 households, of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.7% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.15. The median age in the city was 34.5 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.6% were from 25 to 44; 24.5% were from 45 to 64; and 12% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.9% male and 50.1% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 136,924 people, 50,676 households, and 32,331 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,994.0 people per square mile (1,156.1/km²). There were 53,817 housing units at an average density of 1,176.8 per square mile (454.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.1% White, 1.3% African American, 1.5% Native American, 2.4% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 7.9% from other races, and 3.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.6% of the population. Non-Hispanic Whites were 70.7% of the population in 2010, compared to 88.6% in 1990. There were 50,676 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.10. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.4% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $38,881, and the median income for a family was $46,409. Males had a median income of $34,746 versus $26,789 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,141. About 10.5% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Salem City Hall Courtyard, Salem, Oregon

Salem is governed using the council–manager government model. The city council consists of eight members who are elected from single member wards. The mayor is elected in a citywide vote. The current mayor is Chuck Bennett, a Democrat first elected in 2016. The following are Salem's city councilors: * Ward 1: Virginia Stapleton * Ward 2: Tom Anderson * Ward 3: Trevor Phillips * Ward 4: Jackie Leung * Ward 5: Jose Gonzalez * Ward 6: Chris Hoy * Ward 7: Vanessa Nordyke * Ward 8: Jim Lewis

Economy

Old First National Bank Building Salem Oregon

State government is Salem's largest employer, but the city also serves as a hub for the area farming communities and is a major agricultural food processing center. It lies along the I-5 corridor and is within an hour's drive of Oregon's largest city, Portland. Salem is the home of

Kettle Foods Kettle Foods, Inc. is an American manufacturer of potato chips, based in Salem, Oregon, United States, with a European and Middle East headquarters in Norwich, United Kingdom. As of 2006 they were the largest natural potato chip brand in the U.S. ...

, Inc., a maker of potato chips since 1982. Kettle employs 700 in Salem and at a plant in Bowthorpe, England. NORPAC Foods, Inc., is a large food processor in Salem and elsewhere in Marion County. Its brands include Flav-R-Pac and West-Pac frozen fruits and vegetables, and Santiam canned vegetables. Oregon Fruit Products, Inc., has been canning blackberries, marionberries and other fruits in Salem since 1935, with ''Oregon'' as its brand name. In a bid to diversify its economic base, Salem attracted a number of computer-related manufacturing plants in the 1990s. In November 2003, the Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon Group (SUMCO), one of these arrivals, announced it would be closing its two

silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic ...

wafer plants at the end of 2004, eliminating 620 jobs, and moving production to other plants. Salem is the headquarters of the

Oregon Department of Corrections The Oregon Department of Corrections is the agency of the U.S. state of Oregon charged with managing a system of 12 state prisons since its creation by the state legislature in 1987. In addition to having custody of offenders sentenced to prison ...

and home to four state correctional facilities, including the

Oregon State Penitentiary Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP), sometimes called Oregon State Prison, is a maximum security prison in the northwest United States in Salem, Oregon. Originally opened in Portland in 1851, it relocated to Salem fifteen years later. The 2,2 ...

, Oregon's only maximum-security prison. Numerous projects are underway to increase the supply of

housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether ...

in the downtown core. These projects will provide upscale, low- and high-rise

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

and office space.

Top employers

According to Salem's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the area are:

People and culture

Neighborhood associations

Salem has 18 recognized neighborhood associations, which are independent groups that receive administrative support from the city.

Cultural events and series

Teen male skater in Salem Oregon park jump

From May through October the Salem Saturday Market, located north of the Capitol, exhibits an emphasis on local products including crafts, baked goods, produce, meat, and other items. In addition to the Saturday Market, there is a Wednesday Farmers' Market hosted downtown in Courthouse Square during the summer, as well a Holiday Gift Market in December. The 60+ year old, indoor Saturday Public Market is open all year. The annual World Beat Festival, held in June, is sponsored by the nonprofit Salem Multicultural Institute. The event lasts for two days and is held at the Riverfront Park. It features international crafts, music, dance, food, and folklore from every continent, and in recent years has held a

Dragon Boat A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family of ...

race similar to the ones held during the nearby Rose Festival in Portland. The Salem Art Association sponsors the annual Salem Art Fair and Festival, which takes place at

Bush's Pasture Park Bush's Pasture Park (90.5 acres) is a public park and botanical garden in Salem, Oregon, United States. It is the site of the Asahel Bush House, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and is now operated as the Bus ...

during the summer. Its displays, interactive exhibits, food, and performances attract thousands of visitors each year. The Bite of Salem, held in July at the Riverfront Park, is an event similar to others such as the Bite of Oregon in Portland. The event consists of a weekend of local restaurants in Salem offering samples of their menus to patrons in a festival atmosphere, with live entertainment and benefiting local charities. In the summer, ''Chef's Nite Out'' is a wine and food benefit held for Marion-Polk Food Share. Oregon Wine & Food Festival takes place at that state's fairgrounds in January. The largest event in Salem is the Oregon State Fair at the end of August through Labor Day. Located in the Oregon State Fairgrounds in North Salem, the fair offers exhibits, competitions and carnival rides. Other events such as concerts, horse shows and rodeos take place at the Oregon State Fair and Expo Center throughout the year. The Mid-Valley Video Festival offers local, national and international independent films in theaters throughout the city. The

Salem Film Festival Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, par ...

has included feature films that were Oregon premieres. The Salem Repertory Theatre presents shows at the

Reed Opera House The Reed Opera House and McCornack Block Addition, more commonly known as The Reed Opera House or The Reed, is a historic building in downtown Salem, Oregon, Salem, Oregon, United States. Since its grand opening on September 27, 1870, the Reed Oper ...

. The Pentacle Theatre, which features plays and musicals, is located in West Salem. The Elsinore Theatre is a historic landmark featuring recitals, concerts, films, and plays. It has the largest working pipe organ on the west coast, a remnant of its days as a showcase for silent films, in the early days of cinema. Grand Theater is newly renovated and is the home of Enlightened Theatrics, a professional theatre company and hosts the Salem Progressive Film Series on the third Tuesday nine months of the year. Capitol Pride (Salem's yearly Gay Pride Event), hosted by Aundrea Smith (Author of: "Your Local Queer"; 2019) is held in early August. The personal house and garden of landscape architects Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schryver, known as Gaiety Hollow, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Their firm Lord & Schryver designed the gardens of Historic Deepwood Estate.

Museums and other points of interest

In addition to the Oregon State Capitol and adjacent Willson Park, Salem's downtown contains the Willamette Heritage Center,

Hallie Ford Museum of Art The Hallie Ford Museum of Art (HFMA) is the museum of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, United States. It is the third largest art museum in Oregon. Opened in 1998, the facility is across the street from the Oregon State Capital in downtow ...

, the Elsinore Theatre, Riverfront Park, the Willamette River, some of the oldest buildings in Oregon, as well as shopping and restaurants. The A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village interactive children's museum and Prewitt-Allen Archaeological Museum are both also located in Salem. The two leading candidates for the tallest building in Salem are Salem First United Methodist Church and the Capitol Center. A private survey commissioned by a local publication holds that the church is the tallest. The tall white spire of the 1878 church rises at the intersection of Church and State Streets across from the Capitol grounds. The Capitol Center (originally the First National Bank Building, then the Livesley Building) was built in 1927 by former Salem mayor Thomas A. Livesley, a prominent Salem-area businessman and civic leader. At that time of its completion, it was the tallest commercial building in the state. In 1988, Livesley's family home was purchased through private donations and was donated to the state. It now serves as the official residence of the Governor and family. Now known as

Mahonia Hall Mahonia Hall is the official residence of the governor of Oregon, located in Oregon's capital city, Salem. The building was acquired by the state in 1988 with private donations. It is also known as the T. A. Livesley House or Thomas and ...

, it was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

(NRHP) in 1990. The Oregon Symphony, based in Portland, presents approximately ten classical and pops concerts each year in Salem. The Salem Chamber Orchestra includes professional area musicians as well as students. The Salem Armory Auditorium has hosted touring bands including Korn and Phish. The Salem Concert Band is a community band made up of professional and amateur musicians that performs several classical and pops concerts annually. Because Salem is the state capital, it has a multitude of government agencies, departments, and boards housed in buildings with architectural designs ranging from the early 20th century to examples of state-of-the-art civil building design. The historic

in downtown Salem has a number of local shops and dining establishments, as well as an art gallery. Salem has been awarded "Tree City USA" status by the

National Arbor Day Foundation The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 350 million trees in neighborhoods, communities ...

for 30 consecutive years for its dedication to urban forestry. Salem was the first city in Oregon to receive the award. In keeping with the city's "Cherry City" theme, flowering cherry trees have been planted along many Salem streets as well as on the Capitol Mall across from the Capitol. The Salem Public Library's main branch is located just south of downtown. A branch library is located in West Salem (Polk County). The Library participates in the Chemeketa Cooperative Regional Library Service, so Salem Public Library cards are also valid in the member libraries in Yamhill,

, Marion, and parts of Linn County. In addition to the Salem Public Library, the Mark O. Hatfield Library at Willamette University is open to the public as well, although the hours are limited. The film ''

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may refer to: * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Ken Kesey * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (play), a 1963 stage adaptation of the novel starring Kirk Douglas * ''One Flew Over the ...

'' was filmed at the Oregon State Hospital. Salem and its environs have a multitude of wineries and vineyards that are open to the public.

Media

Salem has one daily newspaper, the

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Statesman Journal''. The ''

Capital Press ''The Capital Press'' is a weekly agricultural newspaper covering the West Coast of the United States, and published in Salem, Oregon. The newspaper covers farming, ranching and agriculture industries in the Pacific Northwest. The newspaper is ...

'', a weekly agricultural newspaper, is published in the city and is distributed throughout the West Coast. The monthly ''Salem Business Journal'' covers business and government. ''Salem Magazine'', published quarterly, both in physical and digital (online) issues, focuses upon its people; its unique culture; and its downtown and surrounding neighborhood communities. Northwest Television operates three television stations that have Salem transmitters: KWVT-LD, KSLM, and KPWC, which serve an area from Longview, Washington, to

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, ...

. Two stations are licensed to Salem but operate out of Portland: KPXG-TV and KRCW. As of 2012, seven radio stations broadcast from Salem, including three commercial AM stations, three non-commercial FM stations, and a community radio station. KBZY was a popular

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

station from its sign-on in 1957 through the 1960s and 1970s. Today KBZY has an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as w ...

format, and continues to use live and local personalities. KBZY is affiliated with the ABC Radio Network. KYKN carries syndicated conservative talk hosts. KZGD is a Spanish language sports talk station. KSLM features conservative talk programming. KSAI is a non-commercial station licensed to

Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest ...

with a Contemporary Christian format. KMUZ, established in 2012, is a non-commercial

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popu ...

station carrying locally produced content in a variety format. Salem is part of the Portland

Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging ...

survey area for radio stations, and most of the Portland stations can be received in Salem, including powerful AM stations news/talk

KEX Key exchange (also key establishment) is a method in cryptography by which cryptographic keys are exchanged between two parties, allowing use of a cryptographic algorithm. If the sender and receiver wish to exchange encrypted messages, each m ...

CBS Sports Radio CBS Sports Radio is a sports radio network that debuted with hourly sports news updates on September 4, 2012, and with 24/7 programming on January 2, 2013. CBS Sports Radio is owned by Paramount Global and distributed by Westwood One. Programm ...

affiliate KXTG, and

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an American sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports division and iHeartMedia, parent compan ...

affiliate KPOJ. Stations to the south in Corvallis and Albany are also easily heard in Salem. NPR programming is carried by Oregon Public Broadcasting, which can be heard on KOPB-FM from Portland, and KOAC from Corvallis.

Parks and recreation

City parks

Salem's Public Works Department, Parks Operations Division, is responsible for a park system encompassing with of trails, 46 parks, and another 55 open and undeveloped areas. Minto-Brown Island Park is the largest at .

, a urban park a few blocks south of downtown Salem, features natural groves of native Oregon White Oak trees, the historic Bush House, a rose garden, and adjacent Deepwood Estates. Other city parks include Cascade Gateway Park and Riverfront Park, which is adjacent to downtown and the Willamette River and is home to the Salem

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in SA) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular pl ...

. Marion Square Park is downtown next to

Marion Street Bridge The Marion Street Bridge is an automobile bridge located in Salem, Oregon, United States. It spans the Willamette River to connect Salem and West Salem, and acts as a conduit for Oregon Route 22. The bridge carries vehicular traffic one way west ...

and has a

skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairse ...

and basketball court. The skatepark also allows bicycles. Marion Square Park was laid out by city founder William H. Willson, and is the next oldest municipal park in Salem after Willson Park at the Oregon State Capitol. Across the Willamette River in West Salem is the Wallace Marine Park, which includes a boat ramp and floating boat dock allowing easy access to the river for water sports. The NRHP-listed

Union Street Railroad Bridge The Union Street Railroad Bridge is a vertical lift bridge, vertical lift, Pratt through truss bridge that spans the Willamette River in Salem, Oregon, Salem, Oregon, United States, built in 1912–13. It was last used by trains in the early 1990s ...

, repurposed as a bicycle and pedestrian bridge, connects Wallace Marine Park and West Salem to Riverfront Park and downtown Salem. Salem is also home to one of the smallest city parks in the world, Waldo Park, which consists of a single Sequoia tree. The capitol grounds, which are maintained by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, cover three city blocks and include Willson and Capitol parks.

Recreation

Other large parks located in the Salem area include the Willamette Mission State Park north of the city, and Silver Falls State Park east of Salem. Both of these parks have extensive hiking, biking, and horse trails. Salem's central location provides access to a wide variety of recreational activities in a variety of climates and geographies year round. The Coast Range and the Pacific Ocean are to the west. The Santiam Canyon area, the

Western Cascades The Western Cascades is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon between the Willamette Valley and the High Cascades. Deposits of Western Cascades age are also found in adjacent southwest Washington state. The range contains many extinct shield vol ...

and the High Cascades are to the east. Portland and its environs are to the north, while Eugene and its environs are to the south. Salem also has two disc golf courses. A nine-hole course located in the woods of Woodmansee Park (located behind Judson Middle School), and a more open style 18-hole course located throughout Cascade Gateway Park. They are both free and open to the public.

Sports

Education

Elementary and secondary

Salem's public elementary and secondary schools are part of the

Salem-Keizer School District Salem-Keizer School District (24J) is a school district in the U.S. state of Oregon that serves the cities of Salem and Keizer. It is the second-largest school district in the state with approximately 40,000 students and nearly 4,000 full-tim ...

, which includes almost all of the city limits. The Salem-Keizer district has approximately 39,000 students and is the second largest public school district in the state. A small section of Salem in Marion County is assigned to Cascade School District 5. The city also has many private elementary and secondary schools such as Blanchet Catholic School and Salem Academy Christian. One school, Willamette Academy, is part of an outreach program run by Willamette University that is designed to expose under-represented students to the rewards of an academic life at an early age (7th–12th grade). Salem is also home to several public

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...

s, the Chemawa Indian School (a

Bureau of Indian Education The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), headquartered in the Main Interior Building in Washington, D.C., and formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant ...

(BIE)-affiliated Native American high school), and the Oregon School for the Deaf. Oregon School for the Blind was formerly in the city and closed in 2009.

Colleges and universities

Post secondary schools include

, Corban University, Tokyo International University of America, and Willamette University, the oldest university in the American west.Gatke, Robert Moulton. 1943. ''Chronicles of Willamette, the pioneer university of the West''. Portland, Or: Binfords & Mort.

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two dec ...

, Eastern Oregon University,

Western Oregon University Western Oregon University (WOU) is a public university in Monmouth, Oregon. It was originally established in 1856 by Disciples of Christ pioneers as Monmouth University. Subsequent names included Oregon State Normal School, Oregon College of ...

and

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering ...

provide classes and a handful of undergraduate degrees at Chemeketa Community College. All of Marion County and all of Polk County are within the Chemeketa community college district.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Cherriots Gillig and Blue Bird buses in old and new paint schemes at Downtown TC in 2018

Cherriots, an independent government agency, provides fixed-route bus service, rideshare matching, and paratransit/lift services for the disabled, within the urban growth boundary. They also operate Cherriots Regional, previously known as Chemeketa Area Regional Transportation System (CARTS), which provides bus service that connects Salem to destinations as far north as Wilsonville, as far west as

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, and to the east to Silverton and up the Santiam Canyon to Mill City. Cherriots, in cooperation with Wilsonville's SMART, provides routes between downtown Salem and Wilsonville. From Wilsonville, WES Commuter Rail connects to TriMet routes in Beaverton, including MAX Light Rail.

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and ...

provides north–south service and connecting carrier service to

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U ...

, from the Salem Amtrak station.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

, the national passenger rail system, leases the Salem Depot from the

Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depart ...

. The '' Coast Starlight'' provides daily north–south service to cities between Los Angeles, California and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

, Washington. '' Amtrak Cascades'' trains, operating as far north as

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

and as far south as

, serve Salem several times daily in both directions. HUT Airport Shuttle provides transportation to Portland International Airport. HUT also serves Corvallis with a second stop at

, Albany, and Woodburn. Mountain Express provides transportation between Salem and Bend. McNary Field (Salem Municipal Airport) is owned and operated by the City of Salem. It serves primarily

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

and the Oregon National Guard – Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF). Delta Connection offered commercial air service with two daily flights to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, Utah, from July 2007. However, citing fuel costs versus a load factor of less than 85 percent, the service was discontinued in October 2008. The city plans to go forward with airport improvements that were announced when service was commenced, including a longer runway and an expanded terminal building. The city is served by the following highways: * Interstate 5 * Oregon Route 99E ** Oregon Route 99E Business is a spur of the above, serving the downtown area * Oregon Route 22 *

Oregon Route 221 Oregon Route 221 is an Oregon state highway which runs between the city of Salem, Oregon and the city of Dayton, Oregon, roughly along the western shore of the Willamette River. It is known as the Salem-Dayton Highway No. 150 (see Oregon highw ...

Oregon Route 51 Oregon Route 51 is an Oregon state highway running between Monmouth, Oregon and an intersection with Oregon Route 22 west of Salem. OR 51 traverses several highways of the Oregon state highway system: the Monmouth–Independence Highway ...

Oregon Route 213 Oregon Route 213 (OR 213) is an Oregon state highway that serves the eastern Willamette Valley between Portland and Salem. It is a north–south route. The route (except for its southernmost segment) is known as the Cascade Highway, th ...

Healthcare

Salem Hospital Regional Health Services, one of the largest of Oregon's 57 acute care hospitals, is a 454-bed acute care medical facility. It is a not-for-profit organization, and is also the city's largest private employer.

Notable people

Ryan Allen Ryan Allen may refer to: * Ryan Allen (bass) (1943–2018), American bass singer * Ryan Allen (American football) Ryan Allen (born February 28, 1990) is an American football punter who is a free agent. He played college football for the Louisia ...

, football player for the Tennessee Titans * George Andrews, mathematician *

Debbie Armstrong Debra Rae "Debbie" Armstrong (born December 6, 1963) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Seattle, Washington. She was the first gold medalist from the U.S. in women's alpine skiing in 12 years, winning the giant slalom at the 1984 Winte ...

, gold medalist in skiing at the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games ( Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки иг� ...

* Ryan Bailey, Olympic sprinter * Cal Barnes, actor, director, screenwriter, film producer, novelist, and playwright * Lute Barnes, baseball player for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

. * Kat Bjelland, lead singer of the punk rock band Babes in Toyland * Jerome Brudos, serial killer * Gus Envela Jr., Olympic sprinter * John Fahey, musician, author and founder of Takoma records * Pat Fitzsimons, PGA Tour golfer * Ron Funches, standup comedian *

Thomas Leigh Gatch Thomas Leigh Gatch (August 9, 1891 – December 16, 1954) was an American naval officer and attorney in the 20th century. A native of Oregon, and grandson of educator Thomas Milton Gatch, he served in the United States Navy as a ship commander d ...

, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy *

Alfred Carlton Gilbert Alfred Carlton Gilbert (February 15, 1884 – January 24, 1961) was an American inventor, athlete, magician, toy-maker and businessman. Gilbert invented the Erector Set and manufactured American Flyer Trains. Early life and education Gilbert ...

, inventor, athlete, toy-maker, and businessman. Known for inventing the Erector Set, and for winning an Olympic gold medal. *

Craig Hanneman Craig Lewis Hanneman (born July 1, 1949 in Salem, Oregon) is a former American football player who played in the National Football League from 1972 to 1975. He played in college for Oregon State University and played for two NFL teams in 52 games ...

, NFL defensive lineman (1972–1975) * Jon Heder, actor, filmmaker, and screenwriter *

Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel ''Dune'' and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked as ...

, author of Dune (novel) series; graduated from North Salem High School and employed by Statesman Journal *

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

, 31st President of the United States; worked in Salem in the 1880s * Bob Horn, NFL linebacker (1976–1983) * Justin Kirk, actor * Kelly LeMieux, bass guitarist for Goldfinger *

Jed Lowrie Jed Carlson Lowrie (born April 17, 1984) is an American professional baseball infielder who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics and New York Mets. Early life L ...

, Major League Baseball shortstop * Technical Sergeant Donald G. Malarkey, former non-commissioned officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army during World War II * Richard Laurence Marquette, serial killer *

Douglas McKay James Douglas McKay (June 24, 1893 – July 22, 1959) was an American businessman and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He served in World War I before going into business, where he was most successful as a car dealership owner in Sal ...

, mayor of Salem, State Senator, Governor of Oregon, and U.S. Secretary of the Interior *

Larry Norman Larry David Norman (April 8, 1947 – February 24, 2008) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Christian rock music and released more than 100 album ...

, Christian rock musician *

Thelma Payne Thelma R. Payne (later ''Sanborn'', July 18, 1896 – September 7, 1988) was an American diver won the bronze medal in the 3 meter springboard at the 1920 Summer Olympics. She also won the springboard at the AAU Championships in 1918–1920. Pay ...

, diver,

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

bronze medalist * Ben Petrick, baseball player * Joe Preston, bassist for several metal and rock bands * Leonard Stone, actor * William L. Sullivan, author of outdoor guide books * Bill Swancutt, football player *

Stephen Thorsett Stephen Erik Thorsett (born December 3, 1964) is an American academic and astronomer serving as the president of Willamette University. His research interests include radio pulsars and gamma ray bursts. He is known for measurements of the masses of ...

, professor and astronomer * Michael Totten, journalist and novelist * Zollie Volchok, former general manager of the Seattle SuperSonics and winner of the 1983

NBA Executive of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Executive of the Year Award is an annual award given since the 1972–73 NBA season, to the league's best general manager, president of basketball/business operations, or another high-ranking executive. Befor ...

* Randall Woodfield, murderer and suspected serial killer * Dolora Zajick, opera singer *

Cory Kendrix Cory Kendrix (born Cory Andrew Kennedy; July 24, 1988) is an American independent rapper, emcee, singer-songwriter, music producer and hip hop artist based out of Denver, Colorado.In 2014, he released the ''IGNORANCE'' LP as well as the ''Worth ...

, musician *Camryn Sullivan, YouTuber and mental health advocate

Sister cities

Salem has three sister cities: *

Salem, Tamil Nadu Salem (), is a major city in Salem district, located on the banks of Thirumanimutharu river in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Salem is the sixth largest urban agglomeration and metropolitan city in the state by population next to Chennai, ...

, India * Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan * Gimhae,

South Gyeongsang South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World H ...

, South Korea As of 2014, there was talk of reviving the now-stagnant Sister City project launched in 1964 with Salem in

Tamil Nadu, India Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language— ...

References

External links

*
Entry for Salem
in the '' Oregon Blue Book''
Salem Online History

Travel Salem

The Salem Chamber of Commerce
* {{Authority control Cities in Oregon Cities in Marion County, Oregon Cities in Polk County, Oregon Salem, Oregon metropolitan area Willamette Valley County seats in Oregon Populated places established in 1842 1842 establishments in Oregon Populated places on the Willamette River