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History · Salem

Salem’s post office opened in 1883

Most of Salem was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1959 on and the census since 1910.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer) · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Salem began

When was Salem founded?

1883

The Salem post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 139 in 19102020 census: 120143 years
Founding year: the first Salem post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about 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 Salem are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 301 in 1970; 120 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Salem’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how 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

Salem, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 301

Peaked at 301 in 1970; 120 people lived here in 2020.

8 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story so far

Salem, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Salem yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Salem is a U.S. town in Oconee County, South Carolina. The population was 120 at the 2020 United States census.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 135 to 120 (-11%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Salem, 1883 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Salem post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 301
By decade

Salem, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Salem-welcome-sign-sc2019Salem-welcome-sign-scSalem-water-tower-sc2019Salem-water-tower-scSalem-United-Methodist-sc2019Salem-United-Methodist-scSalem-SC130-intersection-sc2019Salem-SC130-intersection-scSalem-Fire-and-Rescue-sc2019Salem-Fire-and-Rescue-sc
On the map

Salem on the map, 1959 to 1996

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

Salem on the 1959 USGS mapSalem on the 1980 USGS mapSalem on the 1996 USGS map1959Salem 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 Salem.

Questions about Salem’s history

What year was Salem founded?

The Salem post office opened in 1883, 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 Wikimedia Commons (5), 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.