Salem was settled originally by Quakers with the intent that it be a community of Friends. Landmarks include Henderson Lewelling House, Cook-Johnson House and Collins-Bond House. Salem is the birthplace of Thomas Poulter, physicist and Antarctic explorer.
Salem, Iowa gifts and souvenirs: 35 designs made from Salem's own map, landmarks and history, from $10 to $99. Printed to order and shipped free in the USA.
| Popular | Price |
|---|---|
| Salem Hometown Ornament | $23 |
| Salem Landmarks Photo Poster | from $40 |
| Salem Vintage Travel Poster | from $40 |
| Salem Varsity Crewneck | from $57 |
| Salem Est. Tee | from $33 |
| Salem Town Line Mug | from $26 |
Ceramic keepsake, gold ribbon, in 4 styles
Nine local landmarks, archival matte
Its landmark photo in a classic travel-poster layout
A local landmark photo as a gallery print
Classic large-letter postcard art, filled with local photos
Six local landmarks as instant photos on kraft paper
The town's story in dates, from its own records, for home or classroom
Map of local landmarks, washable fabric
Heavy-blend fleece, street map printed on the back
Red heavy-blend crewneck, knit-stitch town print
Soft Bella+Canvas jersey
Kids' Bella+Canvas jersey, youth sizes
Bella+Canvas toddler jersey
Bella+Canvas baby bodysuit
Large-letter postcard art filled with local photos
Glossy ceramic, dishwasher safe
Large-letter postcard art filled with local photos, 11 oz ceramic
Weatherproof, for the front walk
24″×16″, printed coir-look fibers, rubber back
12″×12″ printed wood, ready to hang
Soft-touch, zip cover
A local landmark photo with the town name, 18″×18″
Sturdy all-over-print tote
Large-letter postcard art on a sturdy tote
Foam-front trucker, printed (not embroidered) with local photos
Glossy top, cork back
Soft fleece, 50″×60″
Six local landmarks as instant photos, soft fleece 50″×60″
20 oz, double-wall stainless
6″×4″ postcard, glossy front
6″×4″ postcard, glossy front
6″×4″ postcard, glossy front
6″×4″ postcard, glossy front
6″×4″ postcard, glossy front
6″×4″ postcard, glossy front
Population 2010: 383 → 2020: 394
From Wikidata (CC0).
Salem was settled originally by Quakers with the intent that it be a community of Friends. In 1835 Aaron Street, while wending his way westward, came upon an uninhabited spot and declared "Now have mine eyes beheld a country teeming with every good thing…Hither will I come with my flocks and my herds, with my children and my children's children, and our city shall be called Salem, for thus was the city of our fathers, even near unto the seacoast." Independently another Quaker, Isaac Pigeon, who may have visited the spot before Street, brought his family to the area. They became the first citizens of Salem, and with Peter Boyer, began to recruit other Quakers to migrate westward to join them. As early as 1837, Friends meetings were held in private homes, and after the village was laid out in 1839 by Aaron Street Jr., and Peter Boyer, a meeting house was built. From the early years members of other Christian denominations settled in Salem, so it was never an exclusively Quaker community.
Being only twenty miles from the Missouri border, Salem became an important depot on the Underground Railroad. A prominent member of the abolitionists was Henderson Lewelling. His house on West Main St. is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an Underground Railroad station. The Friends, however, had a dispute over the issue of abolition. Agreed in their opposition to slavery, they disagreed on actively helping slaves escape. In 1846, 50 members of the community, including Lewelling, were disfellowshiped. In 1847, the Lewelling family traveled by covered wagon along the Oregon Trail along with a special covered wagon that had been designed to transport more than 700 young fruit and nut trees, apples, pears, peaches, cherries, quince, walnut, and hickory. The surviving trees became the parent stock of all of the early orchards in the Pacific Northwest.
The Society of Friends also established a college in Salem. Whittier College, unrelated to the college of the same name in California, existed from 1868 to 1910.
Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Salem, Iowa, revision 1374804113 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
We share a part of every Salem sale with local partners, and we'd love to print from your collection. Old photographs, maps and postcards make the best keepsakes.
Partner with usA favorite landmark, your street, a school or team, an anniversary gift, a different product. Tell us and we'll get back to you by email.
7 free coloring pages of Salem, each traced from a photo of a local landmark. Print them at home, at school or for story hour.
Salem's population was 394 in the 2020 U.S. Census, up from 383 in 2010.
Henderson Lewelling House
Cook-Johnson House
Collins-Bond House
Bicksler Block