Zena

Zena is a ghost town in Polk County, Oregon, situated roughly 10 miles northwest of Salem. Its roots go back to 1858, when the settlement was first known as Spring Valley. Two brothers from Missouri, Daniel Jackson Cooper and Jacob Calvin Cooper, reshaped the community in 1866 by opening a store and establishing a post office — and in doing so, gave it a new name. They called it Zena in honor of their wives, Arvazena Spilman Cooper and Melzena Spilman Cooper, who were sisters.

The facts available on Zena are limited, and visitors today should expect little in the way of formal infrastructure or preserved structures. It is a quiet rural corner of Polk County where the historical footprint has largely faded into the surrounding landscape. Those drawn by curiosity about early Oregon settlement history may find the area worth a slow drive, but there are no documented amenities or maintained historic sites to speak of.