The city's focus is primarily governmental, but it serves as a hub for the farming communities and is one of the largest centers of food processing in the nation. It lays along the I-5 corridor and is within an hour's drive of Portland Oregon.
The Native American name for the area was Chemeketa, which means "meeting or resting place." The first white settlement in the area was the Jason Lee Mission in 1840. The missionaries established the Oregon Institute in 1842 in the area that was to become the first townsite of Salem. In 1844 the mission was dissolved and the townsite established. It is uncertain who chose the name for the town, but it is believed to be one of two people: Trustee David Leslie from Salem, Mass., or W. H. Willson who in 1850-1 filed the plats for the main part of the city. "Salem" is derived from the hebrew word "Shalom", which means peace.
Oregon's original capital was [Oregon City]?. It was moved to Salem in 1851, then to Corvallis in 1855, and then finally back to Salem tin 1855 where it has remained.
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