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Salem, Alabama

Unincorporated community in Alabama, United States

Field	Value
name	Salem, Alabama
settlement_type	Unincorporated community
image_skyline	Salem_Alabama.JPG
imagesize	200px
image_caption	The Y'all Come Novelty Shop in Salem's business district
pushpin_map	Alabama#USA
pushpin_label	Salem
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_type1	State
subdivision_type2	Counties
subdivision_name	United States
subdivision_name1	Alabama
subdivision_name2	Lee
area_total_sq_mi	115.3
coordinates
population_as_of	July 2007
population_total	6,428
population_density_sq_mi	66
timezone	CST
utc_offset	-6
timezone_DST	CDT
utc_offset_DST	-5
postal_code_type	ZIP code
postal_code	36874
area_code	334
blank_name	FIPS code
blank1_name	GNIS feature ID
blank1_info	126233

Salem is an unincorporated community east-centrally located in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It lies along U.S. Routes 280 and 431 between Opelika and Phenix City. It is part of the Auburn Metropolitan Area.

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 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 unincorporated community 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. 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 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 Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge in Salem, Alabama 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.

Notable people

Lil Cory, Rapper

Notes

References

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

References

{{gnis. 126233
"Lee County". Jim Forte Postal History.
"Tornado Damage Survey Information for Central Alabama". National Weather Service.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

unincorporated-communities-in-alabama unincorporated-communities-in-lee-county,-alabama populated-places-established-in-1835 columbus-metropolitan-area,-georgia

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