History · Salem

Salem’s post office opened in 1872, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Salem was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Its Register listing is the Castleberry Building. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1880.

1872first post office

1on the National Register

9%homes built before 1940

2famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

Photo: Brandonrush · CC BY-SA 4.0

Quick answers

How Salem began

When was Salem founded?

1872

The Salem post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1900. Another post office, Pilot Hill (1844), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 86 in 18802020 census: 1,566154 years

How historic is Salem?

C⁺

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Salem post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1900.

History grade

What drives Salem’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Salem is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C⁺

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Salem’s overall grade.

Founding era1872, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 19409.2% of homes (±5.1) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%C⁺National Register1 listing, 6.2 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4C⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 37%

NewerOlder

Arkansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Arkansas town has 20.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Salem’s 6.2 sits near the middle of its state (38% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1900.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Salem’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Salem are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Salem’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

The story so far

Salem, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Salem yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Salem is a city in and the county seat of Fulton County, Arkansas, United States. Salem was first incorporated in 1900. As of the 2020 census the population stood at 1,566.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,635 to 1,566 (-4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Salem, 1844 to 1950

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1844Post officeThe Pilot Hill post office opens
1872Post officeThe Pilot Hill post office closes
1872Post officeThe Salem post office opens
20th century
1942Born hereJoe Brainard is born here
1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.

Add from your album

On the map

Salem on the map, 1950 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Salem. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1950Salem sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Salem.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Salem

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

2021

Castleberry Building

Buildings

All 1 listings

Castleberry BuildingBuilding · listed 2021

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Salem, census by census

Between 86 and 1,635 people in every census since 1880.

11 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Salem’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Salem

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Joe BrainardAmerican artist and writer · b. 1942

Steven WalkerMember of the Arkansas House of Representatives

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Salem’s post office has been open since 1872. Another post office, Pilot Hill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pilot Hill

1844–1872

Salem

1872–today

18401930today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Salem’s history

What year was Salem founded?

The Salem post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1900.

How does Salem rank for history?

Salem is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Salem?

One place: the Castleberry Building (listed 2021).

How old are the homes in Salem?

9% of Salem’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1975.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

Post to Salem

Check your email