Why Salem got the Prison, Asylum, and Feeble-minded Institute, but no University

Yesterday was a history day, mainly for the State of course, but here's something on the State Capital. In a Letter to the Editor of the morning paper 100 years ago, Charles B. Moores offered "some unwritten history on the way Salem was made the Capital of Oregon."

At the end of the letter, he offered an analysis of what has been an ongoing mystery here, why Salem had no State institution of higher education in addition to Willamette University. How did Salem avoid being a real college town, yielding that to Corvallis and Eugene?

February 4th, 1923

He wrote about politics and horse-trading:

Salem, having secured the capital, was wary in protecting her possession. In 1866 and 1868 there was fierce contention between the east and the west side railway companies to be designated as the beneficiary of the government railway land grant. The west side won in 1866, but lost on reconsideration by the legislature in 1868, and Benton county took advantage of the situation to secure the agricultural college. In 1872, when Salem had a bill for an appropriation of $100,000 for a state capital building, Eugene was wise enough to put through a bill authorizing Lane county to appropriate funds for a state university building, and this matter was clinched at the next session by the permanent establishment of the school at Eugene. At that time, 60 years ago, there was perhaps not a single educational institution in the country having as many as 1000 students. To Salem a capitol building and an east side railroad looked better than any college, and to Eugene and Corvallis a college each was ample reparation for the loss of the capitol. The outcome was profitable all around. Since then Salem, feeling secure and undisturbed by the taunt of "Salem Hog," has proceeded industriously to secure everything (and then some) that was due her as the capital of a great sovereign state...

Which on his account is why we got the Prison, Asylum, and Feeble-minded Institute, but no State University.

The Moores family was prominent. You may recall notes on the Moores building, now the site of Pioneer Trust Bank. Charles' father, John, was behind that early downtown brick.

After Charles died in 1930, the afternoon paper looked at his life as nearly a symbol of the city's history.

January 7th, 1930

Moore's 1923 book, Oregon pioneer wa-wa : a compilation of addresses of Charles B. Moores relating to Oregon pioneer history, is digitized at the OSU Library. (I suppose that is a play on Chinook Wa Wa, and that might deserve a whole separate note.)

There might be more to say another time.