Heritage: Salem’s Paradise Island was go-to place in summers

Before there was Enchanted Forest, there was another place where families gathered for years.

Off Turner Road SE was Paradise Island, the home of picnicking, swimming, dancing and, later, amusement rides.

The private park along Mill Creek was open seasonally from May until September for several years. A 1949 Oregon Statesman story called it “one of Salem’s older picnic and playground areas.”

As post-war Salem grew, so did Paradise Island. New ownership in 1949 purchased new teeter-totters, added a softball diamond and slides, and updated bathhouses. Also added was a 20-by-50-foot concrete dance area with a music box.

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A new swimming pool with a diving board was added and a “turfed bank for sunbathing.” An Oregon Statesman story said the park was full of flowers bordering the park, with one island set in begonias and a parking area bordered with more than 1,000 stalk plants.

Paradise Island’s owners unsuccessfully sued after Interstate 5 was constructed, saying changes to Mill Creek affected their business.

The picnic grounds were closed after the 1954 season until 1957, when new owner Ferguson Enterprises purchased the initial 12 acres of Paradise Island. The group later purchased an additional 35 acres to expand the park. Rex Ellis, a former state legislator from Eastern Oregon, led the new ownership.

The park reopened on June 8, 1957. Paradise Island had a 75-foot outdoor heated swimming pool, which the Oregon Statesman claimed was the first such public pool in Salem. There also was a wading pool for children. The park also gained children’s attractions, such as a merry-go-round, airplane ride, little cars and an automatic horse. One of the larger attractions was the “Casey Jones” train. The miniature locomotive ran on one-quarter mile of track, which went past landscaped areas of the park. The newspaper said the train’s bell would ring at each crossing.

There also was an outdoor dance floor, four horseshoe courses and a softball field for the older kids, the newspaper reported in its June 8, 1957, edition.

The park was a big draw for Salem residents and visitors alike. In 1959, Paradise Island drew 15,000 out-of-Salem visitors. The park had 106,000 total visitors during the 1960 season, the newspaper reported.

Ellis proudly told the Oregon Statesman: “This park attracts more people to this area each summer than any other park.”

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Paradise Island’s time as an amusement park destination, however, was short. Because of Ellis’ declining health, the property was put up for sale.

He offered it to the city of Salem for $148,000, but the city decided against purchasing the property. Salem at the time was developing nearby Cascades Gateway Park.

In May 1964, the property was sold for $135,000 to Warren Poole, who transformed the property into the manufactured home park it is today, and it still is known as Paradise Island.

Andy Zimmerman is a former Statesman Journal copy editor who writes a column about local history twice per month. You can contact him with comments or suggestions for future stories at SJTimeCapsule@gmail.com.