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History · North Salem Township

North Salem Township’s post office opened in 1855

Most of North Salem Township was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. Below: maps from 1949 on.

1855first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How North Salem Township began

When was North Salem Township founded?

1855

The North Salem Township post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, North Salem (1855), Sedgwick (1874) and Garner (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 112171 years
Founding year: the first North Salem Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about North Salem Township’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 North Salem Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s North Salem Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of North Salem Township’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start North Salem Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how North Salem Township’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
Places that used to be

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

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

North Salem
1855–1953
Sedgwick
1874–1903
Garner
1899–1903
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
GarnerNorth SalemSedgwick
Gone or out of use
North Salem Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside North Salem Township
McCollumNorth SalemPeavlerPriceWorley

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

The story

How North Salem Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of North Salem Township.

Read it all →

North Salem was originally called Whig Town, and under the latter name was laid out in 1840, and named for the fact a large share of the first settlers were Whigs in politics. The town site was replatted in 1858, and named after Salem, Indiana, the native home of an early settler. A post office called North Salem was established in 1855, and remained in operation until 1953.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

North Salem Township, 1855 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe North Salem post office opens
  3. 1874Post officeThe Sedgwick post office opens
  4. 1899Post officeThe Garner post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903Post officeThe Sedgwick post office closes
  7. 1903Post officeThe Garner post office closes
  8. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1953Post officeThe North Salem post office closes
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.
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On the map

North Salem Township on the map, 1949 to 1979

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

North Salem Township on the 1949 USGS mapNorth Salem Township on the 1950 USGS mapNorth Salem Township on the 1979 USGS map1949Bucklin NW 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 North Salem Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to North Salem Township

Nobody well known was born in North Salem Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John J. PershingUnited States Army general in World War I · b. 1860
Lewis R. FosterScreenwriter, director, producer, television co… · b. 1898
D
Doris AkersAmerican music composer, arranger and singer · b. 1923
Don PrattRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1892
Dorothy C. StrattonProfessor and dean, director of United States C… · b. 1899
Gene BartowAmerican basketball coach · b. 1930
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Baker TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEnterprise TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrantsville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about North Salem Township’s history

What year was North Salem Township founded?

The North Salem Township post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.