PGE Headquarters
121 SW Salmon Street
Portland, OR 97204 

503-464-8000

Portland General Electric website: http://www.portlandgeneral.com

Portland General Electric, Oregon’s largest utility, has a rich and far-reaching history throughout the Willamette Valley and in the Salem area in particular. From creating jobs in outlying areas to sponsoring the annual PGE Festival of Lights Parade in Salem, PGE has had a strong community presence in Salem for years.

When Parker Fornsworth Morey founded PGE in 1892 after an early merger of two smaller companies, the company’s resources consisted of one hydroelectric generator perched atop Willamette Falls. The resulting electricity lit 55 streetlights, but the hopes and expectations were limitless.

Salem took advantage of the benefits of electricity from the beginning, with several sites generating power from the mid-1800s on. Salem’s Mill Creek was the power source for the Oregon Electric Light Company, a precursor to PGE and one of Oregon’s first electric stations. The Mill Race continues to be a power source, generating electricity for the former Thomas Kay Woolen Mill - now the Mission Mill Museum. In the last 1800s, the wood-fueled generator that lit Salem’s downtown was also located at the Mill Race. A little later, PGE’s Station H in Salem and Station J in Silverton helped these two towns establish themselves as key areas of manufacturing and commerce in the mid-valley. Salem’s Station H was critical to its new industry - paper; and Silverton’s Station J kept it competitive in lumber.

PGE employees recently volunteered many hours to build the PGE Water Power Interpretive Exhibit at the Mission Mill Museum. The exhibit was opened to the public in the spring of 2000.

Bibliography:
Compiled by representatives of the Portland General Electric company, 2000