1871 Salem City Directory
What was Salem Like in 1871? If you really want to understand a community, a city directory is a good place to start. In [...]
May 2018
April 2018
Belva Lockwood Almost Speaks in Salem, 1885
Handbill found in the Willamette Heritage Center's Collections (WHC 80.8.13.5.2) announces an lecture by Belva Lockwood the famous woman lawyer at Salem's Reed Opera House [...]
March 2018
Oregon Electric Timetable, 1918
Before there was I-5 and even widespread automobile travel, if you wanted to get to the next town in the Willamette Valley, [...]
February 2018
1876 Election Scandal Money Leads to Ladd & Bush Bank
Following the money in the 1876 Election Scandal Leads to a Salem bank. By Kylie Pine What do an $8,000 dollar check, ciphered telegrams, [...]
December 2017
Illuminating Program, 63.1.21.10.3.1
Grand Opera House Program, December 12, 1912 Theater Program, WHC 63.1.21.10.3.1 I find one of the more revealing types of historical items [...]
October 2017
Processing Flax at the Miles Linen Company (L2002-041)
A copy of this type-written document was found in the Willamette Heritage Center Collections (L2002-041). Notations on the first page indicate it was originally [...]
September 2017
Annual Labor Day Hike from Salem to Portland
Clipping from the Renska Swart Collection reveals a Labor Day Hike tradition from the late 1920s. Labor Day First Officially Celebrated in Oregon Through [...]
1909 AYP Essays from Salem 7th Graders
In 1909, all eyes turned to Seattle for the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition. Oregon school children took part by submitting examples of coursework for [...]
April 2017
Salem Keizer School District Records
The Willamette Heritage Center houses over 45 cubic feet of records compiled by the Salem Keizer School District (2002.020) and has an extensive Yearbook [...]
March 2017
Armchair Research – The Property Hunt
This article was written for the Statesman Journal and published March 2016. It is reproduced here for reference purposes. It started simply enough, a visit [...]