SALEM, Ore. -- Salem began as Chemeketa, an Indian name meaning a place of rest. White missionaries who settled the area decided on Salem, an anglicized version of shalom, the Hebrew word for peace.
With 126,000 people, Oregon's capital isn't exactly sleepy but keeps much of the flavor and tranquility of a big little town."What many visitors here would see is an unusual park right in the center of the city, a bit like Central Park in New York," says Gerry Frank, a longtime aide to former U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield and author of a popular book on where to find nearly everything in New York City.
Frank was referring to Bush's Pasture Park, a 400-acre expanse with jogging and walking paths, a college stadium and soap box derby track. It's a 15-minute walk from the Capitol.
Salem's location alone is a major draw for tourists, an easy base camp for trips to big-city variety and vast outdoor recreation.
Promoters tout the city as an hour's drive from Pacific Ocean beaches or the snow-capped Cascade mountains or Portland, the state's metropolis.
The city is in the heart of the Willamette Valley, one of the nation's most fertile regions, and agriculture remains a leading Oregon industry.
Visitors who climb the 120 stairs to the top of the Capitol rotunda can see some fields that produce as much as 90 percent of the nation's grass seed, along with numerous fruit, vegetable and grain crops.
The Capitol is Salem's centerpiece, a few blocks from downtown. Guided tours are available on weekdays.
A 23-foot statue of an anonymous pioneer, ax in hand and facing west, tops the building.
The marble-covered Capitol of modern Greek style is young, as many statehouses go. It was finished in 1938 and is Oregon's third Capitol, replacing two that burned.
Methodist missionaries arriving to minister to the Indians settled the area in the 1830s and founded Salem. Pioneers from the East and Midwest migrated to the frontier in the 1840s, and the Oregon Territory was recognized in 1849. Statehood followed 10 years later.
A short walk from the Capitol is Mission Mill Museum, where visitors can tour the oldest woolen mill west of the Missouri River. The grounds include homes and church buildings constructed by missionaries, some as early as 1841.
On a more contemporary note, tourists with children can enjoy the new A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village.
The hands-on children's museum at the city's Riverfront Park is named for Salem-born A.C. Gilbert, famed inventor of the Erector Set.
Also for kids, just five miles south of the city along Interstate 5, is the Enchanted Forest, a storybook theme park including a Western mining town and a mountain bobsled ride and a log ride. Next door is the Thrill-Ville USA amusement park with activities including miniature golf and a roller coaster.
Just 25 miles to the southeast is Silver Falls State Park, an 8,700-acre park in the state's only rain forest. It features hiking trails around seven major waterfalls, the tallest plunging 178 feet.
An hour's drive east takes motorists into the Cascades, with sports opportunities including skiing, fishing, hunting and hiking in the state's vast forests.
The rugged coast is an hour to the west.
"Salem is a great jumping off spot, for the big-city life or a trip down to the coast for fishing," Frank says.