Salem Township

Salem Township

The city of Salem, county seat of Marion county, is within a mile or less from the geographic center of the county, that is, the northeast corner of the city is within less than a mile of the northeast corner of the township, which is at the exact center of the county. The original town was an exact square around which was an alley, twentyfeet wide. The city inside of this alley was divided into four squares by two principal streets at right angles to each other and crossing each other at what is known as the bank corner. Each square was again divided into four equal square blocks by streets fifty feet wide, the two principal streets, Broadway, running north and south and Main street, running east and west, being one hundred feet wide. The blocks in turn were divided into eight lots each fifty-six by one hundred and twelve feet. Block three in square one was reserved as a county square and is still, and forever must be by the terms of the gift, the court-house square. The land within the twenty foot bordering alley, was donated to the county in accordance with the act of the Legislature creating the county, by James Roberts, who was the owner by right of squatter sovereignty and entry in 1819. Although he did not deed the land, but left that to his successors in title, Rufus Ricker and Mark Tully, who confirmed the gift by deed dated June 6, 1826. The Commissioners acting for the county were John S. Davis, Leonard P. Pyles and Benjamin (Blackbear) Vermillion.

The first house in Salem was a log house built by James Roberts ; it stood on the south side of Main street, east of the square, but was not in the original town. It is still standing, having been repaired and weatherboarded and now has the appearance of an old frame house. The second house was built by Mark Tully as a stopping place for the Vincennes stage, which route was in use as early as 1820. This house was built about the time that Ricker and Tully bought Roberts out and stood as the homestead of A. R. Bryan until his death, with, however, many improvements and additions it has sheltered three generations and still stands a commodious and substantial building.

The first store was kept by Martin Hill. It was in a small frame building about the middle of the block west from the courthouse, and north of Main street ; it has disappeared. Hill kept a few groceries and notions, perhaps the entire stock was brought from St. Louis by one wagon. The next store stood where the National Bank now stands. Thomas Higgins was the proprietor, and was the first to sell dry goods in Salem.

The first church was built by the Presbyterians. It stood northeast from the courthouse, near the old creamer) site. It was sold to the Colored Baptists, and is now gone. It was built in 1846.

The first school-house was built in 1840, and stood in the same part of the town as the Presbyterian church. It was built in 1840. It was a small frame building and stood many years, and has only disappeared with the last decade. It must not be inferred that the children received no education from 1823 to 1840, but during those seventeen years school had been kept at such times and places as teachers and patrons could make convenient. The city did not graw rapidly. Indeed, it was only the county seat and a stopping place for stage coaches for many years and consisted of some half a dozen houses. By 1837 the hamlet had grown so that the subject of incorporating was agitated and a meeting was called for July i, 1837, to consider the advisability of incorporating Salem as a town. The meeting was held in the store of Col. W. N. Dobbins, and Uriah Mills was elected as chairman and Thomas Ray as clerk. They were both sworn to do the duties of their offices to the best of their abilities. The minutes of the meeting as preserved among the county records are unique, and are here copied verbatim :

"On motion of Col. W. N. Dobbins, W. D. Haynie explained the object of the meeting and on motion of N. B. Nelems, the house proceeded to ascertain by vote the sense of the meeting. Whareuppon William D. Haynie, Jas. Marshal, N. B. Nelems,

William X. Dobbins, Uriah Mills, W. H. H. Barens, John Harner, George W. Pace and Thomas Ray, voting in favor of incorporating the said town. No opposition voats. We certify that thare ware nine voats in favor of incorporating the town, as above, and none against."

We have preserved this unique document in wording and spelling that modern methods may be compared therewith. Just what was accomplished by the meeting it is difficult to see, as no further action seems to have been taken and there is no evidence that the town was legally incorporated at that time, nor was any further action taken until1 the spring of 1854, when a proposition to organize as a village was submitted to the voters. The proposition was carried by a vote of seventy-six to thirteen against. An election was called and the following five trustees was elected: Thomas Day, B. F. Marshall, S. W. Cuningham, T. O. Leffingwell an Samuel Hull. W. W. Jennings was chosen constable. Salem remained under the village charter until 1865, when it was made a city by special act of the Legislature. W. E. McMackin (afterward lieutenant colonel of General Grant's regiment) was elected first Mayor.

In 1829 Salem contained five families, viz., those of Rufus Ricker, Mark Tully, James Chance, James Pyles and Martin Hill. Ricker was Clerk of the Court and postmaster ; Tully was Sheriff, Chance was a blacksmith; Hill a storekeeper, and

Pyles a farmer. Today Salem has three thousand five hundred people, three railroads, three miles of brick paved streets, about ten miles of granitoid sidewalk, a large three-story school building, two bank buildings, the finest in Southern Illinois; four hotels, two steam flouring 'mills, steam brick-making plant ; two large and six medium dry goods houses, the larger carrying a thirty thousand dollar stock, the others from six thousand to ten thousand dollar stocks ; three millinery stores ; one china store: two clothing stores, each with large stock : one machine shop, four butcher shops, two furniture stores, one of which is the largest establishment of its kind south of Springfield ; ten grocery stores, one poultry house, two jewelry stores and two drug stores. The city is lighted by electricity, the city owning its own plant. Until 1905 the city's growth was very slow, the census of 1900 giving it but one thousand six hundred and forty-two inhabitants, but in 1905 the C. & E. I. Railroad removed their repair shops from St. Elmo to Salem, a company of citizens buying and giving to the company a strip of land one thousand feet wide and two miles long for yards. The company also made Salem a division headquarters with offices of superintendent, engineer, freight and dispatcher's headquarters of the division, thus doubling the population in less than a year. Salem still needs two things to make it an ideal city: waterworks and good country roads leading to the city limits. Both are being agitated and both will come and that, too, in the near future.

Salem also boasts of the largest seedcleaning establishment in the state if not in the world that makes an exclusive business of handling Red Top seed. Thousands and thousands of bushels are handled every year. The seed is said to be shipped to Europe and there used in making an excellent dye for fabric coloring.

The Salem mine, now being rebuilt after the fire of last December is, as has been stated, one of the deepest in the state, nine hundred and one feet to the bottom of the sump. The vein is four feet and six inches thick, but of an excellent quality, burning without clinkers and giving an intense heat, and is equal to one and one-half times the unit of other coal.

The city cemetery, known as East Lawn, is situated in the eastern part of the city and contains about twenty acres. It is beautifully located and well cared for and speaks well for the people's remembering their dead. A small soldiers' monument occupies the circle in the center of the cemetery. It was erected by the Woman's Relief Corps to the memory of the deceased soldiers of the Civil war. The cemetery as a burial place dates back to 1830, and a man by the name of Hammers is supposed to have been the first interment.

About twenty-four years ago, when the excavation for the basement of the present Cutler & Hays building was being dug, the workmen dug out of an old abandoned well the skeleton of a woman, which was covered by .the debris that had accumulated in the old well. As an old house had been standing many years on the spot the report started that someone had been murdered and thrown into the well years before. Great excitement prevailed and the wiseacres began to tell of this one and that one who might have been murdered, drawing largely upon their imaginations, and dark hints as to who the murderers were, filled the minds of the ever-increasing crowds. People from the country around flocked to town day after day until the excitement grew so great it was thought best to clear up the mystery, as some of the best citizens were coming under the suspicion of the unreasoning throng. It was quietly let leak out that the whole thing was a grewsome joke and the perpetrators confessed to having hid the skeleton in the well the night before its discovery. The jokers were Dr. G. S. Rainey, now chief surgeon for the C. & E. I. 'Railroad; W. S. Slack, now proprietor of the Salem Marble Works, and Dr. Will Mc- Mackin, since dead. The crowd of excited citizens vanished and everybody said, "I knew it was some joke of Doctor Rainey's."