Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to West Salem

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · West Salem

West Salem’s post office opened in 1855, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1880.

1855first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How West Salem began

When was West Salem founded?

1855

The West Salem post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1857.

First census: 315 in 18802020 census: 786171 years
Founding year: the first West Salem post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1857.The full story ↓

What stands out about West 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 West Salem are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,145 in 1980; 786 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of West Salem’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Salem’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West 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
People over time

West Salem, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,145

Peaked at 1,145 in 1980; 786 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How West Salem came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Salem.

Read it all →

The West Salem area was settled in the 1830s and early 1840s by Moravians primarily from Salem, North Carolina, and Hope, Indiana. Among the early settlers were Adam Hedrick and Peter Hinkle.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

West Salem, 1855 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe West Salem post office opens
  3. 1861Born hereMartin D. Foster is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,145
By decade

West Salem, decade by decade

Today4 recent
West-Salem-water-tower-il2020West-Salem-water-tower-ilWest-Salem-block-il2020West-Salem-block-ilWest-Salem-Village-Hall-il2020West-Salem-Village-Hall-ilWest-Salem-FNB-il2020West-Salem-FNB-il
On the map

West Salem on the map in 1971

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Salem.

West Salem on the 1971 USGS map1971West Salem sheet · 1:24,000

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

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

West Salem’s post office has been open since 1855.

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside West Salem
EvangelicalMoravianSeventh Day Adventist

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

Questions about West Salem’s history

What year was West Salem founded?

The West Salem post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1857.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikipedia, 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.