Salem is a city in Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,915 at the 2020 census. It was founded by Quakers in 1806 and was a center of abolitionist activity as well as a station on the Underground Railroad. It is the principal city of the Salem micropolitan area, which comprises Columbiana County; a small portion of the city extends into Mahoning County.
At a Glance
- Counties: Columbiana County and Mahoning County
- State: Ohio
History of Salem
Salem was founded in 1806 by Zadok Street, a New Jersey clockmaker; and John Straughan, a Pennsylvanian potter. The city was named after Salem, New Jersey, Street’s native community. The name Salem itself is a biblical derivative of Jerusalem in the Middle East, which means "city of peace". The city’s early settlers included the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, which the local school district’s sports teams honor by referring to themselves collectively as the Salem Quakers. Salem was incorporated in 1830.
Salem was a center of abolitionist and suffragist activity in the 19th century. The Anti Slavery Bugle, an abolitionist newspaper, was published in Salem beginning in 1845. A local group of the Progressive Friends, an association of Quakers who separated from the main body partly to be freer to work for such causes as abolitionism and women’s rights, formed in Salem in 1849. The local school board at that time was composed entirely of abolitionists. Salem was the site of an annual conference, the Anti Slavery Fair, whose purpose was to raise money for anti slavery activities. The Daniel Howell Hise House and John Street House were stops on the Underground Railroad.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Salem, Ohio, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.