Salem dates to 1806, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #22 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 201 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1840.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1807.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 98% of U.S. towns, #22 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Salem’s overall grade.
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Salem’s 175 sits above most of its state (96% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 206 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points). Two sources give 1806.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Salem, building by building, 1887–1926
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.
Salem was founded in 1806 by Zadok Street, a New Jersey clockmaker; and John Straughan, a Pennsylvanian potter. The city was named after Salem, New Jersey, Street's native community. The name Salem itself is a biblical derivative of Jerusalem in the Middle East, which means "city of peace". The city's early settlers included the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, which the local school district's sports teams honor by referring to themselves collectively as the Salem Quakers. Salem was incorporated in 1830.
Passages that mention Salem, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Columbiana county, Ohio1879 · page 204Read the page →
Read the text
During the early part of 1806, John Strawn and Zadock Street laid out and platted the village of Salem, an account of which is given elsewhere. At this time the settlement was named “ Salem,” after Salem, N. J., from which they came. Zadock Street built a log house, a part of which is still in existence, in the building west of the “ West Block,” the logs having been covered with siding.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A souvenir history of ye old town of Salem, Ohio, with some pictures and brief references to ye people and things of ye olden time1906 · page 126Read the page →
Read the text
Late in the fall of 1815, a young man might have been seen winding his way northward — until he arrived at the spot where Lisbon street leaves the main street in the town of Salem. He rode up fronting a guide-board pointing westward, with the inscription, Vi Mile to Salem. Obeying the dictates of hunger and fatigue, having ridden from New Lisbon before breakfast, he turned
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Early history and war record of Wilkesville and Salem1874 · page 66Read the page →
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in Salem was a short time before her marriage in 1811, when, in accordance with an j invitation from her brother-in-law, Jared Strong, she came to Salem and then went to Jackson to visit her sister. Going from Salem to Jackson they passed "Wells' Blacksmith Shop," below where Wilkesville now is, and that was the last house they saw till they ar-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
a souvenir history of the old village of new lisbon, ohio and the old town of salem, ohio1903Read the page →
Read the text
Salem village was laid out in 1806, the first plat of lots being recorded on May 6th of that year. The original plat was made and the first lots sold by Zadok Street and John Straughan.
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, 1806 to 1955
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 1806, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Salem’s post office opened in 1807, and the census of 1840 counted 233 people here.
How does Salem rank for history?
Salem is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #22 of 993 in Ohio. 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?
6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the John Street House (listed 1973, the first), and 2 historic districts, the South Lincoln Avenue Historic District and the Salem Downtown Historic District, with 201 contributing buildings. 206 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Salem?
39% of Salem’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1954.
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 (7), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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), 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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