Salem, Ohio

Salem was founded by a New Jersey clockmaker, Zadok Street, and a Pennsylvanian potter, John Straughan, in 1806. 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".^[7] 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.^[8][9] Salem was incorporated in 1830.^[10]

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.^[11] 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.^[12] The local school board at that time was composed entirely of abolitionists.^[13] Salem was the site of an annual conference, the Anti-Slavery Fair, whose purpose was to raise money for anti-slavery activities.^[14] The Daniel Howell Hise House and John Street House were stops on the Underground Railroad.^[15][16]

In April 1850, Salem hosted the first Women's Rights Convention in Ohio, the third such convention in the United States (the first two being the Seneca Falls Convention and Rochester Women's Rights Convention of 1848). The Salem Convention was the first of these conventions to be organized on a statewide basis.^[17] All the convention officers were women. Men were not allowed to vote, sit on the platform, or speak during the convention. The male spectators were supportive, however, and when the convention was over, they created an organization of their own and endorsed the actions of the women's convention.^[18]

Advantageously located between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Salem thrived on an industrial-based economy in the 19th and 20th centuries. For several decades, Salem's largest employers included American Standard Brands, Eljer, Mullins Manufacturing,^[19] Deming Pump, and Salem China. Today, American Standard retains production in the city, as well as the Fresh Mark meat production facility and several tool-and-die manufacturers.^[20]

Salem is located about 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Youngstown, 28 miles (45 km) east of Canton, and 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Cleveland. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 6.43 square miles (16.65 km²), all land.^[21] Salem is the largest incorporated place by area in Columbiana County.

The city is mostly surrounded by unincorporated Perry Township. Salem has annexed portions of Perry Township.^[22][23][24] Several acres of Salem Township and Green Township were annexed into the city limits in 2000 and 2001. Other actions to spur economic development undertaken around the same time annexed specific land: in 1999, 82.24 acres (332,800 m²) of Salem Township were granted police and fire protection, snow removal service, and other city services.^[25]

According to the Sustainable Opportunity Development Center in Salem,^[30] as of 2022, the top employers in the city are:

Two neighborhoods of the city are designated as National Register historic districts: the South Lincoln Avenue Historic District (designated 1993) and the Salem Downtown Historic District (designated 1995), which includes several of the town's monumental and architecturally distinctive homes and businesses.^[31] Other city properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places include the Burchfield Homestead, home to painter Charles E. Burchfield from ages 5 to 28;^[32] the Daniel Howell Hise House and John Street House, both Underground Railroad stations;^[15][16] and the First United Methodist Church.^[31]

Salem operates under a chartered mayor–council government. Eight council members are elected as a legislature for two-year terms, which constitutes four separate wards, three at-large districts, and a council president.^[33] An independently elected mayor serves as an executive.^[33] As of 2024, the mayor is Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey (R) and the council president is Sara Baronzzi (R).^[34][35] The mayor, auditor, treasurer, and law director are all elected to four-year terms.

Children in Salem are served by the public Salem City School District, which includes three elementary schools, one junior high school, and Salem Senior High School.^[a][37] The Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown operates the private St. Paul Elementary School for grades K-8.

Allegheny Wesleyan College is a private, four-year liberal arts college in Salem that grants bachelor's and associate degrees in ministry and theology-related disciplines.^[38][39]

Kent State University operates a satellite campus, Kent State University at Salem, with one building in the city proper and another just outside the city limits in Salem Township. The campus grants associate's degrees and bachelor's degrees, and also offers introductory programs that can be completed at the main campus.

U.S. Route 62 travels around downtown Salem on an east–west route. State Route 9 runs north–south through the city and terminates at its intersection with U.S. 62. State Route 14 travels east–west through Salem, sharing a short concurrency with SR 9 and State Route 173 on State Street. SR 173's eastern terminus is in downtown Salem and travels east–west to Alliance. State Route 344's western terminus is also in downtown Salem and travels east–west to Columbiana.^[40]

• Dustin Bates, lead singer and songwriter for STARSET and formerly Downplay
• Chalkley Beeson, businessman, musician, lawman, and owner of Long Branch Saloon
• Charles Burchfield, 20th-century painter and visionary artist
• John Allen Campbell, first governor of the Wyoming Territory
• Jason Candle, NCAA football coach for the Toledo Rockets
• Joe Daley, jazz saxophonist, composer, and teacher
• Max Fisher, businessman and philanthropist, served as an advisor to U.S. presidents for Israeli connections
• Alan Freed, disc jockey who coined the term "rock and roll"^[41]
• Sarah Elizabeth Mitchell Guernsey, President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution
• Daniel Howell Hise, diarist and abolitionist whose home was on the Underground Railroad
• Caleb Hunt, a founder of the company that built and operated the historic steamboat ’’Enterprise’’
• Elisha Hunt, principal founder of the company that built and operated the historic steamboat Enterprise
• Rich Karlis, National Football League placekicker
• Kirk Lowdermilk, National Football League center
• Jerry Meals, Major League Baseball umpire
• Jerri Nielsen, physician who administered a biopsy and chemotherapy to herself in Antarctica
• John Hunt Painter, Quaker abolitionist who sent the firearms to John Brown for the raid on Harper's Ferry
• Marius Robinson, minister, abolitionist and editor of The Anti-Slavery Bugle
• Michael Rulli, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 6th district
• Webster Street, lawyer who served as chief justice of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court
• Charles C. Williamson, librarian
• Lloyd Yoder, NCAA football tackle and College Football Hall of Fame inductee

• USS Salem (CM-11)