Salem (Oregon’s capital city) has been called the “Cherry City” since at least 1907. Salem held its first cherry fair in 1903, the 1906 fair was held along with the midsummer meeting of the Oregon Horticultural Society and was co-sponsored by the Pacific Coast Nurserymen’s Association. “Cherry City” has been cited in print by at least September 1907 and the Salem Board of Trade published the book, Salem, the Capital City of Oregon: the Cherry City of the World, in 1908.
 
Although the annual cherry fair is no longer held and Salem has lost a legitimate claim as “Cherry City of the World,” the “Cherry City” nickname is still used.
 
   
Wikipedia: Salem, Oregon
Salem ( /ˈseɪləm/) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood of West Salem is in Polk County. Salem was founded in 1842, became the capital of the Oregon Territory in 1851, and was incorporated in 1857.
 
Salem had a population of 154,637 at the 2010 census, making it the third largest city in the state after Portland and Eugene. Salem is less than an hour driving distance away from Portland. Salem is the principal city of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan area that covers Marion and Polk counties and had a combined population of 347,214 at the 2000 census. A 2009 estimate placed the metropolitan population at 396,103, the state’s second largest.
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State fair and cherry festival
Agriculture has always been important to Salem and the city has historically recognized and celebrated it in a number of ways. In 1861, Salem was chosen as the permanent site of the Oregon State Fair by the Oregon State Agricultural Association. Salem is nicknamed the “Cherry City”, because of the past importance of the local cherry-growing industry. The first cherry festival in Salem was held in 1903 and was an annual event, with parades and the election of a cherry queen, until sometime after World War I. The event was briefly revived as the Salem Cherryland Festival for several years in the late 1940s.
 
Salem Online History
Salem’s Cherry Festival
It was a gala occasion back in 1903 when the Salem Elks lodge sponsored a three-day celebration that was Salem’s first Cherry Fair. A festive air permea-ted the town as industrial displays and exhibits decked the sides of Court Street, games and contests were conducted at the State Fairgrounds, a floral parade unfolded, and boat races streaked the surface of the Willamette.
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In 1906, some of the first spirit of the affair was altered as the event became more of educational undertaking than a celebration. For, in that year, the Fair was timed in conjunction with the midsummer meeting of the Oregon Horticultural Society, which resulted in only a few exhibits and cup awards for premiums. Salem became known as the “Cherry City” as a result of the outstanding exhibits at the Cherry Fair held July, 1907.
 
Chronicling America
12 September 1907, Daily Capital Journal (Salem, OR), pg. 4, col. 1:
BOARD OF TRADE MEETING
Great Activity Manifested In Behalf of the Cherry City
 
Chronicling America
25 December 1907, Daily Capital Journal (Salem, OR), pg. 18, col. 3:
CHERRY CITY OF THE WORLD
Has Began Advertising Campaign That Is Eased Upon Productions That Cannot Be Matched Elsewhere.
It is conceded by all who have seen the pamphlets and souvenir booklets published by the various cities of Oregon that the one just gotten out by the Salem Bord of Trade is pre-eminently the most attractive of them all. This new publication for the promotion of Salem’s interests is entitled “Salem, the Capital City of Oregon, the Cherry City of the World.” The cover page is illuminated with a handsome sprig of cherries designed in national colors by Miss Dorris Evans. This makes a most striking cover and is printed in striking colors, which is certain to make a lasting first impression upon the mind ofthe easterner. Miss Evans makes a study of designing book covers, and has done herself great credit in this piece of work. The test of the new book is the work of some of the brainiest men in Salem’s leading commercial organization, headed by President Thielsen, who assigned the various topics to the men best calculated to handle them.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Salem, the capital city of Oregon : the cherry city of the world
Author: Salem Board of Trade (Salem, Or.)
Publisher: [Salem, Or.] : Statesman Pub. Co., printers, [1908]
Edition/Format:  Book : English
 
Google Books
July 1909, Pacififc Monthly, pg. 108m, col. 1:
Annual Cherry Fair at Salem, Oregon.
The fourth annual cherry fair will be held at Salem this year, July 15, 16 and 17. This annual event is the outgrowth of the publicity work of the Salem Board of Trade and has grown into an institution of State proportions. Several years ago a small cherry fair was held in Oregon’s capital city, in conjunction with the Pacific Coast Nurserymen’s association, and the display was so magnificent that the latter organization pronounced Salem the cherry city of world.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
The Dalles, Oregon : the cherry city.
Author: Dalles Business Men’s Association.
Publisher: The Dallas, Or. : Dalles Business Men’s Association : The Dalles Optimist Print, [1909?]
Edition/Format:  Book : English
 
OCLC WorldCat record
The “Cherry City” cook book : recipes dedicated to all good housekeepers
Author: Unitarian Church (Salem, Or.). Ladies Auxiliary.
Publisher: Salem, Or. : The Church : Quality Print. Co., 1911?
Edition/Format:  Book : English
 
Google Books
The State of Oregon:
Its resources and opportunities; official pamphlet published for the information of homeseekers, settlers and investors
By Thomas C, Burke; Oregon. State immigration commission.
Salem, OR: State Printing Department
1914
Pg. 100:
Oregon State Fair is held here annually, and Salem Cherry Fair, a notable social and industrial season of festivity, is an annual July event, from which, as well as for the superior quality of fruit produced in this section, the city has gained the title of “Cherry City of the World.”
 
Google Books
7 March 1914, Electrical World, pg. 544, col. 1:
ELECTRIC SLOGANS OF AMERICAN CITIES
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Eugene, Ore. ... “The Cherry City of the World”