Salem dates to 1750, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #105 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Most of Salem was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1802.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Salem’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Salem is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #105 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Salem’s overall grade.
New Hampshire towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Hampshire town has 9.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Salem’s 1.0 sits below most of its state (18% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1750.
Founding year: Wikidata (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.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The area was first settled in 1652. As early as 1736, Salem was the "North Parish" of Methuen, Massachusetts, or "Methuen District". In 1741, when the boundary line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire was fixed, the "North Parish" became part of New Hampshire, and was given the name "Salem", taken from nearby Salem, Massachusetts. The town was incorporated in 1750 by colonial governor Benning Wentworth. The meetinghouse of the old north parish, erected in 1738, still stands, eventually becoming the town hall of Salem before it was turned into the Salem Historical Society museum.
they Refuse — ' ' The Humbel Pertition of the We Subscribers to the Said Propripeiters that if there is aney Right that belongs to the Propriters that the Town of Salem in Genrel might be a Quainted With it and that Your Portitions Prays that it might Plese your Honers to Give the Town of Salem afore Sd the Liberty of Purcheusing By a maigeroty and in So Doing it mighe Prevent a grate Disturbence in Sd Town your Partitions further Prays that you
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
"To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting — Whereas diverse disputes have arisen between the inhabitants of our town of Salem and the inhabitants of our parish of Windham within our Province aforesaid touching the dividing bounds between them as the same are described in our charter of incorporation for the town of Salem aforesaid of the 11th of May in the 23d year of our reign, which said disputes have occasioned many petitions and complaints from both parties to our Governor
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire1915 · page 666Read the page →
Read the text
In giving an account of the settlement and progress of the Town of Salem, it will be necessary to touch upon the history of a portion of the Town of Methuen, Alass., whose limits formerly extended, northward to and beyond what is now known as Salem Village. New Hampshire being aimexed, in 1641, to the province of Massachusetts, made a royal province in 1679, again joined to Massachusetts in 1689, becoming a separate province in 1741, and the boundary between the two provinces severing the Town of Methuen in twain, that portion called the North Parish ( now comprising a large part
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Salem, 1750 to 1993
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1750, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Salem’s post office opened in 1802, and the first U.S. census counted 1,218 people here in 1790.
How does Salem rank for history?
Salem is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #105 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Salem Common Historic District (listed 2011).
How old are the homes in Salem?
4% of Salem’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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