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A−History
History · Salem Township

Salem Township dates to 1823, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #168 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1934 on, and the census since 1870.

1823founded
4on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Salem Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Salem Township began

When was Salem Township founded?

1823

Salem Township dates its founding to 1823 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 1,182 in 18702020 census: 9,112203 years

How historic is Salem Township?

A−

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1825.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Salem Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Salem Township is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #168 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Salem Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1823, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194014.5% of homes (±3.7) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register4 listings, 5 historic buildings, 5.6 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 78%

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Salem Township’s 5.6 sits above most of its state (76% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points). Two sources give 1823.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Township’s past

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

A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1850–1940.Deep rootsEstablished in 1823: 203 years of Salem Township.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · By decade

Salem Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Illinois - Marion County - ED 61-32, ED 61-33, ED 61-34, ED 61-35, ED 6…18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Illin…
1900s3 items
Birthplace of Wm. J. Bryan1900Birthplace of Wm. J. BryanBryan's Birth Place1906Bryan's Birth PlaceW.J. Bryan's homestead1906W.J. Bryan's homestead
1910s–1930snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1940s14 items
Oil worker1940Oil workerPopcorn stand1940Popcorn standGrocery store1940Grocery storeStore display1940Store displayWoman shopper1940Woman shopperSalem, Illinois. Woman shopper1940Salem, Illinois. Woman shopperSide street1940Side streetMain street1940Main streetCorner Tavern1940Corner TavernSign in newspaper office1940Sign in newspaper officeTruck belonging to oil well driller1940Truck belonging to oil well drillerCots in demand because of oil boom1940Cots in demand because of oil boomCots in demand because of oil boom1940Cots in demand because of oil boomUntitled photo, possibly related to: Popcorn stand1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Popcorn stand
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Timeline

Salem Township, 1823 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1823
    FoundingSalem Township is established
  3. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Illinois - Marion County - ED 61-32, ED 6…
  4. 1898Post officeThe Selmaville post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveBirthplace of Wm. J. Bryan
  7. 1900Post officeThe Selmaville post office closes
  8. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1940In the archiveOil worker
On the National Register

4 historic places in Salem Township

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts

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

The story

How Salem Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Salem Township.

Read it all →

Salem was founded in 1823 as the county seat of the newly formed Marion County. It is situated halfway between the Indiana and Missouri borders on what was originally the Vincennes-St. Louis Road, now U.S. Highway 50.

Salem was formerly a sundown town. For decades, Salem had signs on each main road going into town telling African Americans that they were not allowed in town after sundown.

In the late 1930s, production increased in local oil fields, leading to a significant population increase in the city.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Salem Township on the map, 1934 to 1978

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

Salem Township on the 1934 USGS mapSalem Township on the 1965 USGS mapSalem Township on the 1978 USGS map1934Salem 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 Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Illinois - Marion County - ED 61-32, ED 61-33, ED 61-34, ED 61-35, ED 6…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Illinois - Marion County - ED 61-32, ED 61-33, ED 61-34, ED 61-35, ED 6…, 1850

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Salem Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Salem Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 7,909

Between 1,182 and 7,909 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Selmaville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Selmaville
Gone or out of use
East Nation SchoolschoolOdin Oil FieldoilfieldSouthside Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Salem Township
BethlehemParadise

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

Help out

Finish Salem Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Tonti TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOdin TownshipIts storyCRaccoon TownshipIts storyCStevenson TownshipIts storyD

Questions about Salem Township’s history

What year was Salem Township founded?

In 1823, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Salem Township’s post office opened in 1825, and the census of 1870 counted 1,182 people here.

How does Salem Township rank for history?

Salem Township is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #168 of 768 in Illinois. 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.

How old are the homes in Salem Township?

15% of Salem Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1972.

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 Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (17), Wikipedia, 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.