Salem, Ore. – Salem's Historic Landmarks Commission was honored April 18 with an Oregon Heritage Excellence Award.
The Award recognizes the Commission's innovative approach in protecting cultural and archaeological resources. Salem’s approach serves as a model locally and nationally, according to a press release from the Oregon Heritage Commission.
“I’m proud of our City’s robust plan to protect historic resources of our many cultures,” said Salem Mayor Chris Hoy, “and to educate the public about our area’s rich cultural heritage.”
The awards are given to individuals, organizations and projects that have made outstanding contributions to preserving Oregon’s Heritage.
“We are humbled and honored to receive this award from the Oregon Heritage Commission recognizing the work we have done,” said Kimberli Fitzgerald, city archaeologist. “We cannot do this work alone. Without the combined efforts and ongoing support of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, our City Council, the work of our HLC members and city staff as well as support and grant funding from the Oregon SHPO and Heritage programs, we would not have been able to develop the program we have today.”
Salem's archaeological compliance process is built into local land use planning and permitting. The City's comprehensive plan includes an interactive map to determine whether a property is within the Cultural Resource Protection Zone. Salem works with local tribal authorities under memoranda of understanding. They meet monthly and the Tribes can make recommendations regarding the treatment of significant sites.
In addition to the 12 recipients of a 2024 Oregon Heritage Excellence Award, the Oregon Heritage Commission also recognized 18 standout heritage volunteers from heritage organizations across the state and their critical contributions to heritage preservation efforts in Oregon.
Watch this Oregon Heritage video for more on how we safeguard Salem’s historic and cultural assets.
Join volunteer archaeologists and students for this year’s Public Archaeology Open House on Saturday, Mary 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in coordination with the Sheep to Shawl Festival and Willamette Heritage Center.
This year, Salem's public archaeology project expands to the Willamette University campus, the location of the Indian Manual Labor Training School Building. The building later became the Oregon Institute, the first building associated with Willamette University.
This project has been a priority within Salem’s Historic Preservation program since 2020. The project fulfills several goals identified within Salem’s Historic Preservation Plan 2020-2030. The Historic Preservation Plan has identified six primary goals including: identifying, surveying, designating and protecting Salem’s historic and archaeological resources; and improving public outreach and community education about Salem’s diverse local history.
The project has been funded by Certified Local Government grants from the National Parks Service and the Oregon Historic Preservation Office, as well as grants from the Oregon Archaeological Society.
This field work has formed the basis of Oregon’s first statewide National Register nomination to document this early contact period when the first missionaries settled in the Oregon Country, before Oregon even became a Territory. The work has been completed primarily by volunteers from the Oregon Archaeological Society and archaeological students from Willamette University and Portland State University; and volunteers from the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.
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