Published: September 30, 2009 12:14 pm      

Salem church celebrates 175 years

When I first learned that the Salem United Methodist Church would be celebrating such a special anniversary, my memory booted up a picture of the charming old church in its spectacular rural setting. I recalled the times I had visited the church since moving to Zionsville.

Our first polling place was on the lower floor of the church. Then, after making the acquaintance of Edna Solomon, a Salem church member as well as a member of the extension homemakers club I had joined, I attended an ice cream social there. Perhaps on that occasion, or for some special event I can’t recall, I climbed the stairs to the sanctuary.

I realized then that I was viewing history, although it was several years before I began my “Past Times” column.

Each time the drive along tree-lined Salem Church Road, as it was then called, was inspirational — the perfect prelude to worship, formal or personal.

So when Dr. Virginia Crose asked me if Past Times would herald Salem’s Quartoseptcentennial (yes, there is such a word, but to save space we’ll continue to call it their 175th anniversary) on Oct. 4, I was pleased to do so.

I was even more pleased after she gave me a tour of the church as it looks today.

I’ve never been more impressed by seeing how the comparatively small membership, that hovers near 120, has brightened the interior of the entire structure, taking on one project for improvement each year. And they have maintained and revitalized many of the features unique to the periods of its history.

The first church building, constructed in 1849, was 30 feet wide, 36 feet long and 12 feet high.

As was common practice 175 years ago, when a number of families had settled in relatively close proximity, they began to gather in various log cabin homes for spiritual devotions. As settlements were developed, the worshipers built the first churches — often log cabins that were furnished with rows of benches on each side of a center aisle. Men and boys sat on one side of the aisle, women and girls on the other.

These churches were served by preachers who covered their assigned territory on horseback. Known as circuit riders, their schedules were such that each community had to adjust the time and day of the week of their worship service to the schedule of the preacher. When no circuit rider was available, men from the congregation would fill in.

George and Elizabeth Wood, members of the early congregation of worshippers southwest of Zionsville, gave the land for their church from part of their 1834 land grant during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. They deeded the land for the church, as well as ground for the cemetery in 1849 to William Lemon, William Johnson and Jonathan T. Hall, first trustees of the church. Two strips of land were added to the cemetery at a later date by the Wood’s son, Thomas T. Wood.

Since George Wood had come to Boone County from Salem, N.C., and then from Salem in Washington County, he requested that the church be named in their honor. His request was granted. The church became Salem Methodist Episcopal Church.

In their “A History of Salem United Methodist Church,” Mary Jean Ottinger and Virginia Crose note that: “By a sad coincidence, the first grave in the little cemetery in August 1849 was the five-year old daughter of the donors, George and Elizabeth Wood.” Later the same month, a five-year-old boy, the son of trustee William Lemon, was buried in the second grave. The first adult to be buried in Salem Cemetery was Eliza McCabe, wife of Robert McCabe, in November 1849.

The first Salem Church building lasted until 1885, when the structure was sold to Larkin Beck for $30. It was moved to the property owned by J. E. Haller where it was used as a barn.

A building committee comprised of William Lemon, Tom Shaw and Pryor Brock was appointed and Zionsville carpenters Ira Calvin and William McKinzie were hired to frame the church. Since they worked on the structure from sun-up to sun-down throughout the autumn, they lived at the nearby home of Peter Bender while the work progressed. Interestingly, William McKinzie later became a minister and was a presiding elder in 1905.

When the framing was complete, the trustees hired John Dyson and Nathan French to do the finishing work for $250. The walnut pews they built are still in use today by the choir and in the Sanctuary Annex. Total cost of the building, estimated at $1,800, was subscribed in full by the dedication on Sunday, Nov. 21, 1885.

The congregation, that had long opposed use of a musical instrument in worship services, approved the purchase of a White organ for their new sanctuary.

During the “Gay 90s,” the church often sponsored social activities for the community: quilting bees, husking bees, a sugar camp on William Lemon’s property early every spring. For one Sunday school outing, held in Carter’s Woods, the small girls and boys dressed up as fairies and ribbon bearers. On Aug. 10, 1899, Salem won the silk flag for attendance at the Zion Park Assembly with a wagonload of children pulled by four horses belonging to V. A. Foreman and Elza Marsh. The wagon top was built by young men at Perry Delong’s sawmill.

In 1914, the thriving congregation determined that their edifice was out-of-date and did not meet the social or spiritual needs of the people. William B. Crose, Edward B. Bender and Peter Moore were named to a Building Committee in charge of taking action to alleviate both deficiencies. Trustees at that time were Emory L. Shaw, Elza Marsh and Oliver Green.

It was decided to move the existing building to the top of the knoll and place it over an extensive basement that had been dug on that site. Entering the east door to that basement today, one passes a multi-purpose room on the left that is used for Bible study, choir rehearsal, rehearsal of children’s programs, adult meetings, etc. The west wall of the room is more than100 years old.

Across the hall is the minister’s study. Salem Church has found success in hiring retired pastors who don’t maintain a daily presence. Instead the Reverend James Miller, present pastor, preaches on Sunday and offers pre-arranged sessions throughout the week for such needs as couple’s counseling, as well as visitation of those who are ill or bereaved, and attends congregational meetings. The Rev. Miller also teaches a class on psychology that meets weekly for six weeks.

Beyond the study is a room centered by a large round table where intermediate children gather, and on the other side of the hall is the classroom for lower elementary and a toy-filled nursery. Each room looks freshly painted, is attractively carpeted and ready for its designed purpose.

On the west side of the basement is Fellowship Hall and its well-equipped kitchen, totally in compliance with State Board of Health requirements. According to Dr. Crose, only one of the fundraisers held by the church has provided for their own use. Proceeds from the rest have gone to charities. Members of the congregation have become experts in helping flood ravaged communities, having been on site in New Orleans and, more recently, at Columbus.

In addition to their outreach and annual tithe to the conference, the church membership manages to take on one improvement/renovation project each year. Space does not permit us to list them all, but all are recorded in the recently updated church history, a copy of which is preserved at the P. H. Sullivan Museum, a part of the SullivanMunce Cultural Center.