The Story of Salem, Virginia – Discovering My New Hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains
The Story of Salem, Virginia - Discovering My New Hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains
by a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads – Art & Other Odd Adventures
Dear Henry,
After making a big deal about moving to Roanoke (read about that here), we didn't stay. Worse, we moved more than a year ago!
Since we first married, Fish and I have had a "dream house" in mind: a cabin on an acre in a canyon in the woods with a creek. We couldn't find it in Roanoke, but we did find it in the neighboring city of Salem. It's a cute little town with its own history. Let me tell you all about it.
Salem, Virginia, was "discovered" by the Euro-American explorers Thomas Batts and Robert Fallam in 1671 and was called "Totero Town" after the native Totero people. In this instance, the land transfer from the Totero people to Euro-Americans doesn't appear to have been forceful but rather the result of disease decreasing the population of Native peoples. However, I'm sure there have been unrecorded skirmishes.
The first notable Euro-American settler was the Revolutionary patriot Andrew Lewis, who built an estate named Richfield, located near the current site of the Civic Center. No one is sure, though, who suggested the name Salem. Some sources claim that James Simpson, another early settler, suggested the name, while other sources attribute the town's name to the Byans, who moved from Salem, New Jersey. In either case, by 1806, the town was chartered as "Salem."
Like Roanoke, it is very close to the Great Road and was a well-established township by 1838, when Salem became the county seat of Roanoke County. The town received a boost in status in 1847 when a college, later known as Roanoke College, was created. By 1852, when the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad came through town, it looked like it would become a great metropolis in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Then the Civil War happened.
In 1863, Union General William Averell raided the town, destroying the rail depot, the flour mill, and a military warehouse. A small battle also occurred at Hanging Rock in 1864. Unfortunately, despite (or maybe because) the Salem Flying Artillery fired the last shot in the Civil War, the railroad was rebuilt following the war, and it was built in what is now downtown Roanoke, and Salem became something of a suburb of the neighboring city.
Salem fought for its own independence, though. In 1967, the city voted to incorporate to prevent annexation by Roanoke.
Today, Salem is a small city with about 25,000 residents, but it is also the "sports town" of SW Virginia. It is the home of the Salem Red Socks, a minor league baseball team, and the host of the NCAA Division III Amos Alonzo Stag Bowl. This year, Roanoke College has reinstituted a football program, so there will be some great games to be had soon.
All in all, we are happy to have found our place in Salem, and now, I can build my forever garden and create my forever home.
Stay tuned for pictures and subscribe to get the latest updates! Don't forget to check out my YouTube video about the city here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSwMaCECyTU
xoxo a.d. elliott
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.
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