Salem is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

east-centrally located in Lee County,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, United States. It lies along U.S. Routes

280 __NOTOC__ Year 280 ( CCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Gratus (or, less frequently, year 1033 '' ...

and 431 between

Opelika Opelika (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of Opelika is ...

and

Phenix City Phenix City is a city in Lee and Russell counties in the U.S. state of Alabama, and the county seat of Russell County. As of the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 38,817. Phenix City lies immediately west across the Chattahoochee ...

. It is part of the

Auburn Metropolitan Area The Auburn Metropolitan Area—officially the Auburn-Opelika, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area—is a metro area in east-central Alabama with a 2016 population of 158,991. It was the 19th fastest growing metro area in the United States be ...

History

Salem was first settled in 1835, and grew rapidly for the next two decades. Salem incorporated in 1846 and quickly became one of the area's largest cities. However, a fire which engulfed the town in 1854 and the subsequent

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

resulted in the collapse of the town's government, and rapid depopulation. Salem lost a bid to be the county seat of the newly formed Lee County in 1865, and then saw its charter become inactive in the following decades. Today, Salem is a small

of a few hundred. By the late 20th century Salem was the location of Lee County's only covered bridge, the

Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge The Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge, also known as the Pea Ridge Covered Bridge, is a locally owned wooden covered bridge that spans Rocky Brook in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is located halfway down Park Road (formerly the east end of 7t ...

. A symbol of the area, the bridge was destroyed by a fallen tree following a storm in 2005. It was rebuilt in 2007 at Opelika Municipal Park in nearby Opelika. A post office operating under the name Salem was first opened in 1839.

Tornado of 2009

On February 28, 2009, at about 8:30 a.m., an EF2

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

touched down in Salem, destroying Salem Chapel AME church, several homes and part of Wacoochee Junior High School. It also destroyed the Anglican Church of the Resurrection, ACA Mission in the middle of downtown Salem. The church was completed in 2008 in the building that most people knew as the old McLain Museum. This building had been used for several other businesses over many years. The tornado ran east-northeast across part of U.S. Highway 280, which runs through the small community, before lifting up two miles to the east. There were no fatalities and no major injuries reported.

Gallery

File:SalemShotwellBridge2003.jpg, The

in Salem,

as it appeared in 2003 File:2021-03-08_Salem,_AL_-_Moffit's_Mill_on_Uchee_Creek.jpg, The falls at Moffit's Mill on Uchee Creek near Salem File:Dr. Andrew McLain Office & Drug Store Salem Alabama.jpg, Dr. Andrew McLain's Office & Drug Store, destroyed by a tornado in 2009, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Notes

References

*Nunn, Alexander (Ed.) (1983). ''Lee County and Her Forebears''. Montgomery, Ala., Herff Jones. LCCCN 83-081693

External links

Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge Photos
Unincorporated communities in Alabama Unincorporated communities in Lee County, Alabama Populated places established in 1835 Columbus metropolitan area, Georgia{{Short description, Unincorporated community in Alabama, United States