Salem Real Estate
Background
Oregon’s capital city, Salem, boasts one of the premiere locations in the state. It sits on the 45th parallel in the heart of the Willamette Valley, a 100 mile-long lowland stretch of Interstate 5 between the Cascade Mountains and the Lower Coast Range. It takes only an hour’s drive to reach Portland, Eugene or the Oregon coast. Known for world-class wines, breathtaking gardens and fertile land, residents of the area enjoy the family oriented atmosphere and revitalized downtown area.
History
A local Indian tribe called “Kalapuva” settled the Willamette Valley approximately 10,000 years ago. The Indians called the area “Chemeketa,” a word that meant resting place. The tribe began dying out due to disease in the late 1700s. It was required to move to reservations in the coastal range in the mid 1800s because of a treaty with the federal government.
Trappers arrived nearly 200 years ago and began farming the valley’s rich soil. In 1834, a missionary leader named Jason Lee began to minister to the Indians. His group built a combination sawmill and gristmill on what is now Mill Creek in 1841. The next year Lee’s group founded the first learning center west of the Rockies called the Oregon Institute, now Willamette University. After the mission dissolved in 1844, the town site was built on the institute’s land. At that time the missionaries named the new town “Salem,” which is an anglicized form of the Hebrew word “shalom,” meaning peace.
Migration via the Oregon Trail took the Willamette Valley by storm beginning in 1843 due to the fact that each resident was promised 320 acres of free land through the Donation Land Law. Salem settlers began producing wheat, timber and other goods to be sent to California via Portland for the gold rush in 1848. This enabled Salem to prosper; building modern roads, mills, homes and businesses.
A disastrous flood struck the valley in 1861, but Salem survived. Modern invention took hold of Salem in 1864 through the telegraph. Salem residents could receive news, such as the end of the Civil War, within minutes from the east coast instead of the accustomed months via covered wagon. In the same year, Salem became the official state capital instead of Oregon City, the former capital. Residents of the valley became more connected to their northern neighbor, Portland, through a train service that began in 1870. Willamette Valley residents became more accessible to each other with the first bridge across the Willamette River, which was constructed in 1886.
The latter end of the 19th century brought revolution to the Salem area. Residents felt as though their thriving community was similar to that of a quiet New England country village. Churches, civic institutions and public buildings were quickly erected. The State Capitol building quickly became the premier landmark. Asahel Bush II, found of the first newspaper and bank in Salem, built his historic home on Mission Street south of town.
The current capitol building was built in 1938 after a fire destroyed to previous structures. The current building features a four-story modern Greek style architecture, surrounded by a beautiful park. A 23-foot golden statue, the “Oregon Pioneer,” stands on top of the capitol overlooking Salem’s downtown area. The main entrance to the building contains a 106-feet tall rotunda with large murals depicting Oregon history.
Fun Facts
City population: 135,000
Metro population: 2.4 million
Size: 40.8 square miles
Average temperature (January): 46.9 (max) / 37.0 (min) F
Average temperature (July): 81.6 (max) / 50.7 (min) F