Continue to Stand in the Gap: Marion County

 

North Falls, Silver Falls State Park

I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  I Timothy 2:1

Marion County has a three-member Board of Commissioners, the current commissioners are Kevin Cameron, Danielle Bethell, and Colm Willis.

The County Sheriff is Joe Kast.

Salem is the county seat, and, of course, is also the Oregon state capital.

The above verse is particularly appropriate with Marion County being the site of the state capital. Pray not only for the county commissioners but the state legislators and officials as well.

As we have written elsewhere, Marion County was one of the original four counties that made up early Oregon. It was established in 1843 and called Champooick District then, renamed Marion later in honor of Francis Marion, aka “The Swamp Fox,” a leader of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

Marion is a beautiful county, mostly rural outside of the busy city and population center of Salem. It is the fifth-most populated county in Oregon. Marion has a strong agricultural and food-processing economic base, but unsurprisingly, the largest employer is the state government. The region’s famous marionberry was named after Marion County.

Marion County, Oregon

Marion County small towns are rich in history, some of which go back to the very beginning of Oregon as a state. The site near Champoeg, now Champoeg State Heritage Area, is where the meetings that established the first Provisional Government were held in the early 1840s. This area, in northern Marion County, is also the location of French Prairie, where fur traders released from service with the Hudson Bay Company were allowed to settle by Dr. John McLaughlin.

It was in Marion County that Jason Lee established his mission and was instrumental in bringing settlers into the area, ensuring that the U.S. eventually acquired the Oregon Territory. If it were not for events that took place in early Marion County, the history of Oregon could have read quite differently.

Being settled so early, many towns in Marion County have interesting and unique backgrounds. Aurora, in the northern part of the county, was originally Aurora Colony, a Christian utopian communal society founded in 1856. Today it is popular for its museums, historic homes, and antique stores.

As early as 1850, the town site that became Mt. Angel was planned by a settler, Benjamin Cleaver. By 1881 a railroad station had been established just as a group of Benedictine monks under Fr. Odermatt arrived from Switzerland to establish a new abbey. He established Mt. Angel Abbey just as a large group of Catholic settlers from Bavaria arrived in the area. The Benedictine Abbey on the bluff above the town, and the historic St. Mary’s Catholic Church are predominant in the little town. The Swiss/Bavarian culture has resulted in the hugely popular Oktoberfest event every fall.

The small town of Silverton, just a few miles east of Salem, is of great historical interest. Some of the settlers, such as Elias Cox, who came in the first “Great Migration” wagon train of 1843, settled there. Now the city boasts such treasures as the Silver Falls State Park with ten picturesque waterfalls; and the Oregon Gardens which includes a resort hotel and a house built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Silverton is also known for its historic old houses, stately homes built during the early logging days by those who prospered in the early timber industry.

Keep the rural, agricultural areas of the county in prayer. Marion County extends to the east, into the Santiam Canyon, and lost a few towns (Gates, Detroit) during the 2020 wildfires. While it has been three years, many are still attempting to recover from the catastrophe.