SALEM
FRANKLIN COUNTY, TENNESSEE

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Salem was an old town in the lower part of the county which had much importance in its day. Some of the early merchants were John R. Patrick, Hedspeth & Simmons, and Thomas B. Moseley. Prior to 1840 Salem was a noted cotton market. It had good merchants and for many years Mrs. Cowan's hotel was considered one of the best in the country. On the 7th of March 1878 the town was nearly all destroyed by fire. Mrs. Cowan's hotel, some dwellings, and every business house in the village were consumed. The loss was estimated at $31,000. The town has never been rebuilt. In its "palmy days" it had a flourishing academy, the building of which is now used for the public school. Source: History of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1886