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Minto-Brown Island History
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In 1970, the City of Salem acquired the 308-acre Minto Island site located
2 1/2 miles from the City center. A Land and Water grant, Willamette
Greenway funds, and a donation by the Schindler Brothers left only a small
portion of the purchase price to be paid by the City. A year later, Marion
County acquired a 525-acre site contiguous to Minto Island that brought
the total park area to 833 acres. The site is bounded by the Willamette
River on the northwest, Salem Golf Course on the south, River Road on the
southeast, and Boise Cascade aeration ponds to the northeast.
In 1857, Isaac "Whiskey" Brown made his way up the Columbia
and Willamette Rivers from Astoria and established his home on an island
which became known as Brown's Island. Here, the colorful and untidy Brown
raised livestock, farm produce and tobacco. Ten years later, John Minto
purchased 247 acres on another island which was to be named after him. At
that time, the island was covered with dense brush and flood debris, which
he subsequently cleared, turning the land into productive farm land.
Today, the islands aren't true islands due to periodic flooding which
has changed the channel of the Willamette River. The greatest flood ever
recorded occurred in December, 1861. Previous to this flood, the
Willamette River flowed between the two islands, so that Minto Island was
on the east bank and Brown Island was on the west bank of the river.
After the flood subsided it was discovered that the river had changed
its course to the present location. The 1964 flood was almost as great as
the one 100 years previous, and many structures were destroyed at this
time. Periodic flooding of the Minto-Brown Island area has allowed the
site to survive to this day as a low density agricultural area.
Cooperation between Marion County and the City of Salem has resulted in
preparation of a Master Development Plan and subsequent application for
Land and Water development funds over the past few years. The city and
County have recently negotiated a Land Use Permit with the Fish and
Wildlife Commission which permits continued farming of the area. The
agreement requires that some of the farm crops remain unharvested for
waterfowl and wildlife which constitute a recreational use.
The remainder of the site consists of gravel pits, old river bed,
sloughs, native timber, dense underbrush and grassy meadows that serve as
a natural habitat for birds and wildlife.
There are approximately five miles of paved bikeway and two parking
lots for unloading bikes in the park. The trails lead to points of
interest along the sloughs with observation platforms available for bird
watching. It also passes a paddle boat area and several fishing spots. The
City of Salem has constructed a bicycle path along South River Road which
ties into the Minto-Brown Island bike trails. Development has been kept
low key to preserve this natural area.
Many people now use the site and enjoy the very natural, rural farm
setting. the use of the bike trails by bikers, joggers and strollers has
been very compatible with the farming interests there. Many clubs use the
are extensively such as the Audubon Society, and bicycle clubs and other
interests such as equestrian, archery, boating and canoeing will probably
be served in the near future.
Minto-Brown Tree Restoration Project
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Federal funding assistance was approved
to Parks Operations Division by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The
acronym for the program is CREP, which stands for Conservation Reserve
Enhancement Program and was created to assist with the endangered
species act (ESA).
Thanks to the efforts of many volunteers,
over 5,000 native plants have been planted to help create a 200'
buffer along
sloughs and river banks. The purpose
of this buffer is to allow a
natural filtration system to prevent run off of chemicals, such as
fertilizers and pesticides, from entering waterways. The buffer will
also help prevent soil erosion, help habitat and help improve the water
quality. A number of groups helped out at four planting sessions by
planting trees, adding plant guards and stakes in the ground and
covering the plants with mulch to help ensure they
thrive. School groups included Yoshika, Marion Miller,
Livingstone Junior Academy, McKinley, Houck (two different groups),
Sprague, Judson, North Salem, Morningside, Grant, Brush College,
Candalaria, McKay and Delphian. Eagle Scouts, Cub Scouts, Shoots
and Roots Club,
Boys Scouts, the Environmental  Club and a variety of individuals
were also on hand to help out. The total number of volunteers were
over 750 and 3,000 volunteer hours were tracked! Parks Operations
Division would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who
assisted with this important project.
Additional Pictures
map
Minto-Brown
Island Park - 2200 Minto Island Road
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