Salem, South Dakota is a progressive community that welcomes new residents and businesses. There is a wide variety of local businesses for shopping, and every penny spent locally not only helps the city fix streets, plow snow or run the parks and summer recreation programs; it also keeps local business thriving in town.
History
Salem was named by Oliver S. Pendar for his home town of Salem, MA. The town was platted in July of 1880 with its location being determined by the railroad. It is said that the town was call Melas (Salem reversed) for some time to avoid confusion with another Salem or Salena, but was changed back to Salem by Pendar. Early Salem was a railroad town and the first 30 years of the city’s existence were peak railroad years. Salem was at the junction of two railroads, the Chicago Northwestern and the Omaha. Salem is the County seat of McCook County. The present McCook County Courthouse was built in 1934. The present City Hall was built in 1937. The building included room for a new city water filtration plant, a city jail, firehouse, engineers office, council room and kitchen. Salem has a public school, McCook Central School (K-12), and a parochial school, Salem St. Mary’s (K-8).
Recreation / Community Events
The school year is filled with events involving not only athletics but also fine arts activities. The summer brings swimming at the local pool and softball & baseball. The Community hosts several events throughout the year, May: City Wide Rummage; June: Carnival & Appreciation Supper; July: All School Reunion, Fireworks Show and McCook County 4-H Days; October: Main Street Trick or Treating and Haunted House; Dec: Holiday Craft Show, Christmas Luncheon, Children’s Christmas Store and Cookies with Santa. McCook County Museum is located at 124 W. Norton?in Salem and administered by Lou Ella Weber. The historic museum is open Fridays from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Call 605-425-2340 for more information.
Contact Information
- City of Salem, 400 N Main, PO Box 249, Salem, SD 57058
- Phone: 605-425-2301
- Email: citysalem@triotel.net
- Website: salemsd.com
Source: City of Salem
