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The Mill Stream with Cherry Tree

The Mill Stream

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Written by Juliette Burns, class of 2026

The Mill Stream which runs through the Willamette campus is a core part of student life and leisure: whether dangling your feet in the water, watching the ducks, or seeing if you can figure out how that ‘W’ shape is supposed to work. This man-made flow begins with the Mill Creek, which itself begins with the South Fork and North Fork Mill Creeks, near Mehama, Oregon. These quickly combine into the singular creek and travel west for approximately 24 miles until it empties into the Willamette River in Salem, Oregon. On this route, water travels into the creek from the Salem Ditch (sourced from the Santiam River) as well as Beaver, McKinney, Battle, and Rogers creeks.1 The Mill Stream, also called Mill Race, diverts from Mill Creek starting between where 19th and 21st Streets in Salem now sit, with State and Ferry Streets running parallel to the stream. The Mill Stream was constructed in 1864 for the power generation of a nearby woolen mill. This mill, unnamed in sources, would not have been the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill, which was later powered by the Mill Stream, as that was not established until 1889.2 The Willamette University Trustees agreed to let the stream flow through the campus, where it is part of an open channel portion of the flow path.3

Young for a stream but present at the college longer than any student, the Mill Stream was quickly made a staple of the Willamette Campus. A Willamette Collegian edition from February 1882 refers to the ‘old mill race’ as having been on campus ‘as of yore,’ meaning for a long time; and articles from the early 1900s have numerous references to student recreation along the banks of the stream.4 Among these fond praises of the stream are the threats of being thrown in for various social infractions: calls for individuals (students and faculty) to face justice for rude remarks or thievery are peppered in the Willamette Collegian entries throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries.5

There are references to the stream from some of the earliest Willamette Collegian articles, not only as part of campus, but as part of campus life and activities. One such use is as a divider for a Freshman-Sophomore tug-o-war game. This May Day tradition began in 1909, where one of the classes would challenge the other to a tug-of-war game in the weeks leading up to May Day (May 1st). This would eventually become ‘May Weekend,’ the first weekend of May which hosted a variety of physical and artistic events. During this tug-o-war, the freshmen would stand on one side of the stream, sophomores on the other, and the losers are the ones who end up in the water with less rope.6 Even as the May Day tug-of-war fell out of campus use, tug-of-war challenges across the Mill Stream continued in various fashions for decades.7

The tug-of-war is not the only way students have been throwing each other into the stream for decades. Glee Week (aka Freshman Glee) was a nearly 90 year old Willamette custom, beginning in 1908 and ending in 1997, due to declining participation and interest among students.8 This activity involved a songwriting competition and subsequent performance by teams from each class . The losing class had to walk in the Mill Stream, as well as some who lost bets on the winning class; this was known as Blue Monday.9 Finally, many students may be familiar with the oft mentioned but rarely enacted tradition of being tossed in the Mill Stream on one’s birthday. This tradition goes back to at least the 1980s.10 Students may also be glad that other Mill Stream activities have gone out of fashion, such as being tossed in for refusing to wear one’s class hat, an incident detailed in a November, 1917 Willamette Collegian article.11

Other things besides people also end up floating down the stream, such as candles. The Matriculation ceremony is a fun, yet dignified tradition which is much younger than those previously discussed. The first Matriculation ceremony occurred in 2000 for the class of 2004, with music, speeches, and candles to float down the stream. The visuals of the candles traveling down the stream combined with the activity of Opening Days led the ceremony to be an immediate favorite among students.12

The stream has had some changes in placement throughout the decades, as more and more buildings sprang up on campus. One change of the stream’s look and flow occurred in 1982, in conjunction with the construction of Mark O. Hatfield Library. The configuration of the library in relation to the stream, as well as to other buildings, was played with by architects and university officials over the course of a few years. The possibility of placing the library over the Mill Stream was even considered, but it was eventually decided to place Hatfield Library between Sparks Center and Putnam University Center, southward of the stream. Architect Ted Wofford, who had suggested the ‘on top of stream’ placement, also widened the stream between Smith Auditorium and Putnam Center in 1982, creating a more meandering flow. This area was known as Hudson’s Bay, named after the Willamette president.13

For over 150 years, the Mill Stream has been a constant on the Willamette campus, facilitating activities and leisure alike for any who pass by. Tradition after tradition has centered around it, usually involving someone getting wet. Although many changes have occurred, both around and to the stream, the appreciation for the beauty, use, and history of the Mill Stream remains.

Written Spring 2024

Endnotes

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  1. ˆ Lisa Hemesath and Tina Nunez, January 2002, Pringle, Glenn-Gibson, Claggett, and Mill Creeks Watershed Assessment, Salem-Keizer, Oregon, pp. 3-81, 3-82.
  2. ˆ Dick Lutz, “the Creeks of Salem,” 2006, Willamette Heritage Center;  “Thomas Kay Woolen Mill,” Willamette Heritage Center
  3. ˆ Ibid, pp. 3-93, 5-10.
  4. ˆ “Crater Lake and Rogue River Falls,” February 1, 1882, The Collegian (Salem, OR); “Across the Campus,” March 25, 1903, The Collegian (Salem, OR).
  5. ˆ November 1, 1895, The Collegian (Salem, OR); “Locals,” March 30, 1907, The Collegian (Salem, OR).
  6. ˆ “May Day,” 1912-1913, Wallulah (Willamette University, Salem, OR).
  7. ˆ “Phi Delts Challenge,” March 1973,  The Collegian (Salem, OR).
  8. ˆ “Freshman Glee,” 1911, Wallulah (Willamette University, Salem, OR); “89 year old tradition of glee falls silent at Willamette U,” 1997, Willamette Archives and Records,
  9. ˆ “Alma Mater hailed by Sophs; Freshmen wade mill stream,” March 19, 1965, The Collegian (Salem, OR).
  10. ˆ Hanna Burns, Personal Communication with author, September 2024
  11. ˆ “Wapato is put in race,” November 14, 1917, The Collegian (Salem, OR).
  12. ˆ Jessie Bowmen, “Opening Days activities received mixed reviews,” August 31, 2000, The Collegian (Salem, OR); Mike Kiefer, “Opening Days draw to close,” August 30, 2001, The Collegian (Salem, OR).
  13. ˆ William F. Willingham, Collegiate Architecture and Landscape in the West: Willamette University 1842-2012 (Hallie Ford Museum of Art, 2019, Salem, OR), pp. 168-170

Works Referenced

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Image Citations

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