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Salem, Kentucky

21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1916 and the latest in 1987. It stands in the Salem census division. It lies in ZIP code area 42078. It lies near Eberle Knobs. The Survey maps it on the Salem quadrangle. 722 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 443 feet above sea level.

Salem within Livingston County

Population over time

2 figures

Salem fell from 752 to 722 between 2010 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.

YearPeople Change
2010752
2020722-30 (-4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 21 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

17 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 17 fires within 5 miles of Salem between 2003 and 2017, burning about 140 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined6
Recreation and ceremony5
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Debris and open burning3

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
19 September 2008Railroad operations and maintenance1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
5 April 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
5 March 2010Recreation and ceremony10 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
24 March 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
21 March 2014Recreation and ceremony10 acresKentucky Division of ForestryMIDWAY RD.
20 March 2011Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryCEDER GROVE
9 February 2009Recreation and ceremony2.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
22 February 2004Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Livingston County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 74 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 74 workings within 5 miles of Salem: 34 past producers, 20 prospects, 14 occurrences, 4 producers. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Fluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, Fluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, Fluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, Lead. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Givens ProspectZinc, Nickel, Manganese, Cobalt, DiatomitePast Producer1900
La RueFluorine-Fluorite, Lead, ZincPast Producer1933, 1934
Moore Hill Group Fluorspar MinesFluorine-Fluorite, Lead, ZincProducer1900
Babb Group Fluorspar MinesFluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, Lead, Barium-BariteProducer1899
Babb-Barnes ConcentratorFluorine-Fluorite, Lead, ZincPlant
Babb-Barnes MineFluorine-Fluorite, Lead, ZincPast Producer1899, 1974
Ben Belt MineFluorine-Fluorite, Lead, ZincPast Producer
Dike - Eaton Group Fluorspar MinesFluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, Lead, Barium-BariteProducer1900
Mineral Ridge - Claylick Fluorspar MinesFluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, LeadProducer1870
Wright MineFluorine-Fluorite, Barium-BaritePast Producer

Every working recorded in Livingston County

Storms near this place

19 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Salem in 19 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 11 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 2 heavy rain, 1 funnel cloud. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2023Thunderstorm WindSalem$50,000In the Salem area on Highway 133, a 40-foot camper was thrown about 15 feet. Numerous large trees and power lines were down. An air conditioning unit was moved off the concrete pad.
July 2021Flash FloodSalem$50,000Several roads were closed due to flash flooding, including U.S. Highway 60 on the east edge of Salem between Kentucky 133 and Lola Road. U.S. Highway 60 was also closed near Kentucky 137 between Smithland and Burna. A couple of culverts were washed out on county roads. A narrow corridor of excessive rainfall occurred where storms trained across the same areas for several hours. Radar estimated 6 to 9 inches fell in a narrow corridor of west Kentucky from central Livingston across southern Crittenden County. There were a few confirmed rainfall measurements of 7-plus inches in southern Crittenden County.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindSalem$30,000Widespread damaging winds occurred across the county. Numerous trees and power lines were down. Near Burna, several trees were uprooted on Highway 60 near the intersection of Highway 135. Seven miles east of Smithland, a damage survey conducted by NWS personnel confirmed several large trees were snapped or uprooted by winds near 75 mph. Wooden building materials were scattered across the front yard of a residence.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindSalem$20,000Shingles were blown off roofs.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindSalem$10,000Multiple trees were blown down in town.
January 2008Thunderstorm WindSalem$10,000A building was damaged, and a shed was destroyed.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindSalem$5,000Power lines were downed over a road in Salem as a late afternoon thunderstorm crossed Livingston County.
April 2004Thunderstorm WindSalem$5,000Wind damage was reported between Salem and Grand Rivers. Trees, power lines, and power poles were blown down. Structural damage occurred near Salem.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindSalem$4,000Trees were blown down.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindSalem$3,000Small trees and a few limbs were down between Burna and Salem.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindSalem$2,000no account filed
July 2016Thunderstorm WindSalem-The public estimated a wind gust to 65 mph.
August 2013Funnel CloudSalem-A cone-shaped funnel cloud was photographed.
March 2012HailSalem-Golf ball size hail was reported just east of Salem.
October 2009Heavy RainSalem-Water was over one lane of Kentucky 723 at the edge of Salem.
February 2006Heavy RainSalem-Heavy rain caused flooding of Kentucky 1433, which was closed for a one-mile stretch.
April 2023HailSalem-no account filed
April 2006HailSalem-no account filed
June 2001HailSalem-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Livingston County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Lola5.0 miles21
Mullikin Junction5.1 miles19
Pinckneyville5.3 miles18
Mitchell Landing6.0 miles19
Burna6.3 miles19
Moxley Landing6.3 miles19
Tiline6.3 miles18
Hampton6.9 miles21

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 SalemAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2779641The 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 502766. 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.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.