Salem - along Mill Race

SALEM - ALONG MILL RACE

We all know the more common definitions of the word "race," but an uncommon definition is "a strong or rapid current flowing through a narrow channel in the sea or a river." This walk follows one such channel, Mill Race, in the city of Salem, Oregon. The walk is 2.5 miles long, and is on level terrain.

This walk starts at the Oregon State Capitol, constructed in 1938 on the ashes of the previous capitol building, which burned to the ground in 1935. The old capitol building, originally constructed in 1876, faced east-west, while this one faces north-south.

From the Court Street front of the Capitol, take the paved pathway to the left side of the building. You will soon come to these pieces of the previous columns from the old, burned capitol building. 60 years after the event they were retrieved from various sites in Salem and placed in this display. This picture also shows a giant Sequoia redwood, planted on the capitol grounds soon after the new building was opened.

Continue through the park grounds to the east of the capitol building, past the Circuit Rider statue, and eventually to a short street, Waverly, that runs between State and Court Streets. Turn right on Waverly until you get to State Street, and then cross the street. On the south side of the street is Gatke Hall. This building was constructed in 1903, but not at this location. It was the downtown Salem Post Office to the east until 1938. when it was put on rollers and moved several blocks to this location. It houses Willamette University administrative offices.


Opposite Gatke Hall is the Oregon Supreme Court Building, also home to the Oregon Court of Appeals and the State's Law Library. This structure was built in 1914.



Continue on State Street, crossing 12th Avenue and the Southern Pacific main line railroad tracks. These tracks see lots of long freight trains as well as Amtrak passenger trains, but the city has built a nice walkway along this stretch of tracks. The next block of State Street has several fine dining establishments, including Adams Ribs and the Sassy Onion.

At 13th Street turn right, go one block and then turn left onto Ferry Street. You will pass the headquarters of the Salem-Keizer School District. Continue east on Ferry Street, and after you cross 14th Street, if you are on the left side of the street, you will see this barrier and a sign indicating pedestrians should use the sidewalk on the right side of the street. Underneath the wooden planks is Mill Race. One block later, on 15th Street, the planking disappears and Mill Race can be seen, a narrow waterway flowing back the direction you came.


Continue on Ferry Street, paralleling Mill Race (be careful crossing busy 17th Street). After crossing 19th Street, on the left you will see a small picnic area - this is Mill Race Park. At the edge of the picnic area is a sign telling the history of Mill Race. Mill Creek itself is the beneficiary of a diversion from the much larger North Santiam River, completed in 1857 to provide water to power Salem's grist mills. At this location, a diversion was made from Mill Creek into Mill Race, the water from which powered mills downstream. The diversion dam here is visible from the picnic area. The current dam was constructed in 1915.


After viewing the diversion dam, continue on Ferry to 21st Street, then turn right. Go two blocks to Mill Street, then turn right again and head back west. You'll see a mixture of old and new houses - this one, which looks great from the outside, was recently for sale for only $149,000. Real estate prices are a lot lower in Salem than in Portland!



When you reach 15th and Mill, on the left is an elementary school, and on the right is this Buddhist temple. There isn't any readily available information regarding activities at this building online.



Cross 14th Street. On the left is the Tokyo International University of America. This school was founded in 1989 in partnership with its parent university in Japan and Willamette University. It provides a one-year program for Japanese students that includes an intensive English language study course and additional coursework in various disciplines. It is directly connected to the main Willamette University campus by a pedestrian skyway, which will be visible later on the walk.


On the right side of the street is the Mission Mill complex. The Willamette Heritage Center at the Mill is centered around the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill, constructed on this site in 1898. It is now the Mission Mill Museum. The site also contains five historic Salem structures that were moved here from their original locations. While walking the grounds is free, the museum has an admission charge.

Take a walk into the site. Behind the main entrance and gift shop runs Mill Race. The diversion at Mill Race Park originally provided water power to the Thomas Kay Woolen Mills and also to several additional mills downstream which no longer exist.

Return to Mill Street and continue west. Cross the railroad tracks, and then immediately follow the walkway to the left onto the Salem train station waiting area. At the center of the outdoor platform is this 1918 Beaux-Arts style station building constructed by the Southern Pacific Railway. It is now operated by Amtrak, and serves several trains per day, including the San Diego-Seattle Coast Starlight.

Go around the train station to the right and out to 12th Street. At the intersection of 12th and Bellevue cross this busy street using the pedestrian crosswalks. On the opposite side of the street is the beginning of the main Willamette University campus. Willamette University is the oldest such institution on the west coast, dating its origin to 1842. The private university has 2700 students, 2000 of them undergraduate.

Continue on Bellevue Street past the athletic field, and at the driveway into Willamette University turn right and follow the sidewalk. Beyond the athletic field is an overpass connecting the main campus with Tokyo International University of America. You can use the overpass to cross over 12th Street and the Southern Pacific railway tracks, but once on the other side you would find that you are in a giant cul-de-sac, with access only to a baseball field, unless you have a key to get into and through the Tokyo University buildings.

Continue along the sidewalk adjacent to the driveway as it curves to the left, passing the Sparks Center, which is Willamette's indoor athletic facility. Straight ahead is the Antoinette and Mark Hatfield fountain and sculpture, placed in this spot in 1989. The fountain is named for longtime Oregon politician and Willamette University alumnus Mark Hatfield and his wife Antoinette.

At the fountain, turn right. A walk along the pathway will bring you to the Mark Hatfield Library with the adjacent Whipple clock tower, on the right. Hatfield graduated from Willamette in 1943, came back as a political science professor in 1948, and two years later was elected to the Oregon State House as a Republican. He resigned from active duty with the Willamette faculty in 1956, after his election as Oregon's Secretary of State. Two years later he was elected Oregon's governor at age 36. Eight years later, in 1966, he was elected to the United States Senate, where he served until 1996. After being one of the first U.S. servicemen to witness the devastation of Hiroshima at the end of World War II, he became a lifelong pacifist, which led to his early opposition to the Vietnam War. Each side of the clock tower bears a short quotation from Senator Hatfield.

Continuing past the library, you will make a crossing of Mill Race. The former utilitarian nature of the waterway, powering various mills, has been replaced with a pleasant green area along the gently flowing water. On any sunny day during the school year it has lots of Willamette students enjoying the sun while studying - or perhaps not studying!

Continue on the pathway past the library, and then past the college theater and music buildings to this large grassy area, known as the Quad. Waller Hall is in the background. The main use of the quad area seems to be graduation exercises each June. Waller Hall is the oldest building on the Willamette campus, constructed on this site in 1867. It is the oldest university building west of the Mississippi River still in university use. It currently holds administrative offices.

Continue across the quad, either along the perimeter paved trails or across the grass, toward the opening to the right of Waller Hall and left of Eaton Hall, a similarly-styled brick building that was constructed in 1909. Once you pass between the two buildings you will be facing the Oregon State Capitol and its State Street facade. Turn right, and then left in front of Eaton Hall, and youwill come to this beautiful university rose garden. Go to State Street, and after crossing either go through the interior of the Capitol building or go around the building to the right to get back to your starting point on Court Street.