Salem's Fallout Shelters

During the Cold War in the mid-twentieth century the federal government established the Federal Civil Defense Administration – through their Marion County arm –established an emergency management plan in 1958—the “Marion County Civil Defense Operations Plan”. Prior to that they encouraged people to build fallout shelters as part of their own residences. President John F. Kennedy established a new civil defense framework in July 1961 by signing Executive Order 10952. This shifted civil defense responsibilities from the civilian Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization to the Secretary of Defense, creating the Office of Civil Defense to spearhead fallout shelter programs. Kennedy formally addressed Congress and the nation in May 1961 to emphasize national survival in the event of a nuclear war. His administration focused on identifying, labeling, and stocking fallout shelters in existing public and private buildings across the United States. Kennedy hoped that a combination of private and public shelters would help 97% of Americans survive nuclear war. In the program's first year, nearly 104 million shelter spaces were identified nationwide, typically basements in office and municipal buildings. Here in Salem, Oregon we too had fallout shelters. In 1961, they completed a survey of locations in Salem for 17 public fallout shelters. If you want to learn more about this period of American history, check out a fun documentary film produced by the federal government in 1966 featuring Gene Hackman. It is on YouTube and can be found by searching “Community Shelter Planning” starring Gene Hackman.