The original settlement was at Keizer Bottom , near the banks of the Willamette River . The community was named after Thomas Dove Keizur , one of its first settlers . Somewhere in the translation of donation land claim records , his name was misspelled . The settlement suffered in the flood of 1861 , and the inhabitants rebuilt their homes on higher ground . Further floods in 1943 , 1945 , 1946 and 1948 hampered the growth of the community , and it was not until dams were built in the 1950s to regulate the flow of the Willamette that Keizer began to flourish
flood of 1861
Great Flood of 1862
Keizer, Oregon