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History · Salem

Salem’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Salem. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
3recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

The city is believed to have been settled c. 1800 by immigrants from Salem, North Carolina, who named their new community after their former home. It replaced Centerville as Livingston County's seat in 1809, but it was replaced in turn by Smithland in 1842, after the removal of Crittenden County left it more centrally located.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Salem’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Salem’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Salem

See all 3 →
James Henry Dickey HendersonJames Henry Dickey HendersonPolitics & LawC. Pat TaylorC. Pat TaylorPolitics & LawGiven CampbellGiven CampbellMilitary
By decade

Salem, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today3 photos
Main in downtownCommonsMain in downtown2016Livingston Hospital inCommonsLivingston Hospital in2016KYMap-doton-SalemCommonsKYMap-doton-Salem2004
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Salem is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Salem has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Gen. George T. Wood House in Crayne, 5.3 miles away.

Salem and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Salem. Tap a dot.
Gen. George T. Wood HouseFrances School GymnasiumFohs HallFredonia Cumberland Presbyterian ChurchMantle Rock Archeological DistrictGower House

Closest to Salem

Gen. George T. Wood HouseCrayne · Building5.3miFrances School GymnasiumFredonia · Built 19386.2miFohs HallMarion · Built 192610.1miFredonia Cumberland Presbyterian ChurchFredonia · Building10.7miMantle Rock Archeological DistrictCarrsville · District11.9mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Gen. George T. Wood House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Salem?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Salem’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Marion📜 Fredonia📜 Carrsville📜 Smithland

From Wikimedia Commons (3). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The coffee’s on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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