Salem, Georgia
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1951 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Salem census division. It lies in ZIP code area 31016. The Survey maps it on the Logtown quadrangle. 307 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 512 feet above sea level.
Population over time
3 figuresSalem fell from 339 to 307 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 339 | |
| 2010 | 310 | -29 (-9%) |
| 2020 | 307 | -3 (-1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 10 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1951 USGS Yatesville quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1955 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Logtown quadrangle1:24000
- 1981 USGS Thomaston quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
156 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 156 fires within 5 miles of Salem between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,288 acres in total. 8 started naturally. 23 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 98 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 23 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 14 |
| Natural | 8 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 8.6 acres | Georgia Forestry Commission | FY2020UPSON004 |
| 8 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | FY2017-CRAWFORD-004 |
| 30 September 1993 | Debris and open burning | 1.2 acres | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 29 September 2019 | Natural | 23 acres | Georgia Forestry Commission | FY2020UPSON012 |
| 19 September 1993 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 18 September 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 11 September 1993 | Debris and open burning | 1.6 acres | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 10 September 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
9 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Salem in 9 storm reports between 2015 and 2026: 4 flash flood, 2 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2021 | Flash Flood | Salem | $30,000 | The Emergency Manager reported two culvert washouts along Pleasant Grove Road resulted in its closing between Kendall Road and Logtown Road. Radar estimates indicate that 3 to 6 inches of rain occurred over the area, resulting in the flash flooding. |
| April 2017 | Lightning | Salem | $20,000 | The Upson County Emergency Manager reported a structure fire at a residence on Kendall Drive. Lightning struck a transformer outside the home causing the fire. |
| December 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Salem | $15,000 | An NWS storm survey team confirmed an EF-0 tornado, with maximum wind speeds of 80 MPH and a maximum path width of 180 yards, touched down just west of Mt. Carmel Road and traveled .2 miles east northeast, crossing Mt. Carmel Road before lifting. Several trees were snapped or uprooted on either side of Mt. Carmel Road and a small shed was destroyed. [12/24/15: Tornado #1, County #1-1, EF0, Upson, [2015:014]. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Salem | $2,000 | The Upson County Emergency Manager reported trees blown down across the eastern portion of the county from Salem to Yatesville. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Salem | $1,000 | A tree was downed on Logtown Rd near Bentley Rd. |
| March 2026 | Tornado (EF0) | Salem | - | A weak velocity couplet was detected on radar northwest of the intersection of Grays Chapel Rd and Grady Pennyman Rd at 7:20 AM. The storm tracked to the east, with a tornado debris signature (TDS) appearing at 7:24 AM over Grays Chapel Rd. Two trees were uprooted along the road, and four trees were snapped at their tops before |the circulation moved over a densely wooded area. By 7:26 AM, the velocity couplet had weakened and was located over Israel Creek east of Grays Chapel Rd, although the TDS persisted due to lofted debris. The damage in this area was limited, but enough to indicate a brief touchdown. All damage was consistent of EF-0 damage, with maximum winds estimated around 75 mph. |
| October 2021 | Flash Flood | Salem | - | The Emergency Manager reported US Highway 80E flooded near Salem Church. Radar estimates indicate that 3 to 5 inches of rain occurred over the area, resulting in the flash flooding. |
| October 2021 | Flash Flood | Salem | - | The Emergency Manager reported Mt Carmel Road was closed due to flooding from Wrights Church Creek. Radar estimates indicate that 3 to 8 inches of rain occurred over the area, resulting in the flash flooding. |
| October 2021 | Flash Flood | Salem | - | The Emergency Manager reported Bentley Road closed between Kendall Road and Logtown Road due to flash flooding along Kendall Branch. Radar estimates indicate that 3 to 6 inches of rain occurred over the area, resulting in the flash flooding. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birdsong Crossroads | 5.0 miles | 12 | |
| Logtown | 6.3 miles | 10 | |
| Redbone Crossroads | 8.4 miles | 12 | |
| Lincoln Park | 10.7 miles | 12 | |
| Yatesville | 11.0 miles | 10 | |
| East Thomaston | 11.3 miles | 12 | |
| Thomaston | 11.6 miles | 12 | |
| Blacksboro (historical) | 12.7 miles | 12 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Salem | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1977760 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1852876. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.





