Salem History Moment

May is Historic Preservation month and Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month! This year Preservation Month takes on a new meaning. As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we’re looking to the places that bring its most powerful promise to life, that “all people are created equal,” and to the preservationists making sure those places endure. Thi...

May is when the annual "UFO Festival" in McMinnville is celebrated. This is the second-largest UFO festival in the nation after the one held in Roswell, New Mexico . The McMinnville UFO festival began in 1999 – and was a way to honor the 1950 sighting where two local citizens witness and photographed a UFO. The photos were printed in Life magazine by Paul and Evelyn Trent at their farm outside of...

America 250 (or the U.S. Semiquincentennial ) commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, celebrated on July 4, 2026. It is a nationwide initiative to honor 250 years of American history. 100 years ago in 1926, the country was celebrating the sesquicentennial and Congress authorized the minting of the Oregon Trail half dollar coin, to help fund the install...

In the summer of 1915 the Liberty Bell was brought to the west coast for the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco and as it made its way there it stopped here in Salem. Thousands of people came to see the Liberty Bell in Salem that day. Schoolchildren were presented with a small silk flag to keep. The Cherrian Band gave a concert in Marion Square Park The train arrived at Salem...

In 2017, as part of an effort to better understand the history of some of Salem’s underrepresented communities, the City of Salem’s Historic Landmarks Commission (HLC) decided to learn more about Salem’s Chinese community. We discovered that Salem did, in fact, have a Chinatown located in our downtown, but unfortunately no buildings remain. Archaeological excavations were conducted in 2017 and 201...

March is Women’s History Month. Caralyn (Carrie) B. Shelton, was the Nation’s first female Governor, who served right here in Oregon in 1909. She stepped into this role after Governor Chamberlain resigned and before Governor Benson could be sworn in. This was three years before Oregon women even had the right to vote! It took another 11 years for women nationwide to finally earn the same right wit...

The Third Saturday of March is Cherry Blossom Day at the Capitol- and this year’s daylong celebration will be on Saturday March 21rst, which also happens to be the first day of Spring. Creation of a blossom day in Salem first began in 1920 and was established by Salem’s Commercial Club to promote the success of Salem’s local fruit growing industry. In 2015 the first Cherry Blossom Day hosted by th...

March is Women’s History Month. The National Women’s History Alliance selects and publishes the yearly theme, and this years is: “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future”. The Alliance explains in order to plan for a brighter future, its important for us to look for examples of women in our communities where women’s leadership was central to empowering people to connect to the lands...

Roger Tofte who designed and built the Enchanted Forest south of Salem, died last month on February 13 at the age of 96. From 1964-1971 he built up Storybook Lane during his free time from his job as a draftsman for the Oregon State Highway Department. Tofte quit his job in 1973 to operate Enchanted Forest full time with his family. They added rides and other improvements from 1973-20017. The Toft...

Black History month is celebrated throughout the month of February. Carter G. Woodson. In 1912, Woodson became the second African American to earn a PhD at Harvard University. In 1915, Dr. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Under Woodson’s leadership, the Association created...

Presidents' Day, observed on the third Monday in February, originated as a federal holiday in 1885 to honor George Washington's birthday (Feb. 22). Moved to a Monday in 1971 by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to create three-day weekends, the holiday expanded to honor both Washington and Abraham Lincoln ( whose birthday is on February 12).

Residents of Salem have celebrated Valentines Day since settling here in the mid-1880s. The tradition of sending ornate cards as part of the Valentine’s Day celebration on February 14 began during the Victorian Era. During this time, it was common for people from all social classes to express feelings of friendship and love through the exchange of notes, small gifts, or hand-written verse. Elabora...

134 years ago this week, on February 3, 1892 Salem experienced an earthquake. The following day, the Oregon Statesman featured an article on the front page titled: “Salem’s Earthquake Shock”. People in what is now Oregon experienced Cascadian earthquakes and tsunamis long before European Americans settled in this area. In 1987- U.S. Geological Survey geologist Brian Atwater found the first on-the-...

100 years ago this week, the front page of the Capital Journal had an article titled: “Cook insists on discovery of the North Pole”. The article describes a letter written by Frederick a. Cook (who wrote the letter from a federal prison Leavenworth where he was serving time for mail fraud) where he challenged the claim that Admiral R. E. Peary had reached it first. Cook wrote that Peary did not ac...

The first week of the New Year on January 5th in 1885 there was a train wreck just south of the first Salem Train Depot as it was crossing the wooden bridge over south Mill Creek during a snow storm. While the steam engine made it over the bridge, the passenger coaches derailed and tipped on their side. There is still evidence today of our connection to the steam engine. In 2016, ODOT found eviden...

Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 to January 1rst and is an annual celebration of African American culture, and was created by activist Maulana Karenga in 1966, a Professor of black studies at California State University at Long Beach after the 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles left many people dead and injured. Professor Karenga looked for a way to unite the black community and reinforce famil...

Governor Isaac Patterson died on December 21 1929 right before the holidays. He was considered a popular and well-respected figure by rivals and supporters alike. After his sudden and unexpected death at his farm in Eola, he was laid in state at the Oregon Capitol Building on December 23rd with a funeral service held in the House Chamber. The casket was taken down the front of the Capitol steps. P...

Salem’s first outdoor Christmas tree was set up on the lawn of the Marion County Courthouse in December 1913 and was reported to be the first outdoor tree in Oregon (and perhaps the nation) to be decorated with electric Christmas lights. This tree served as Salem’s Christmas tree for 38 more years after that initial lighting, and by 1951 it was 72 feet tall. On August 18, 1952 the 70 year old tree...

100 years ago today, on December 9, 1925- the front page of the Capitol Journal had an article advertising a new film called “The Ancient Highway” at the Oregon Theater, which was located in the Oregon Building on the sw corner of High and State. While the movie isn’t available, the book published in 1925 written by James Oliver Curwood is. The novel is set in the years following the First World W...

International Human Rights Day is December 10th. Human Rights Day has been observed annually around the world since 1948, and originally began with a Declaration of Human Rights that was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10th 1948 that set out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. This declaration stated the rights that ever...

Historically the turkey trot was a popular dance that was done to fast ragtime music. Many people felt the dance was scandalous and it was banned in many places around the country. Today, Turkey Trots are more commonly walks or runs held around Thanksgiving. The first Turkey Trot Run was held in Salem in 2002, and the Salem Parks Department held their annual turkey trot on Saturday November 22, 20...

Few people realize that West Salem was an independent town for over 30 years. From its early development in the mid-19th century—when valley homesteaders grew wheat, hops, and fruits—to the founding of Fairview School in 1868, the opening of the Center Street Bridge across the Willamette River in 1886, the rail line in 1909, and a city charter in 1913 to the surrender of that charter to Salem in 1...

Veterans Day was first known as Armistice Day and celebrated on November 11 to commemorate the end of World War I, which ended on t the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. In the United States, November 11th was celebrated to honor Veterans of World War I until June 1, 1954, when November 11th became a day to honor American Veterans of all wars. The Oregon Department of Veterans'...

November is Native American Heritage month. Native American Awareness Week began in 1976 and recognition was expanded by Congress in August 1, 1990, designating the month of November as National American Indian Heritage Month. If you are interested in participating in events to Celebrate indigenous heritage this month – there will be restoration Pow-wows for both the Siletz and Grand Ronde – The S...

Nell Sykes was a Salem schoolteacher, who lived at 1251 Center Street NE here in Salem during the 1920s. She was a teacher in Salem Public Schools - dietician who served the American Red Cross Commission to Siberia between 1918 and 1920. To see a photo of Nell in the Library of Congress prints and photographs online catalog from April 10, 1920, please visit their American National Red Cross photog...