Salem United Methodist Church
This Methodist church organized in 1871, when trustees acquired ½ acre of land north of the Jeffries Creek Public Road for “a place of Divine worship.” Many founding members had previously been enslaved in this area, then part of McMillan Township in Marion County. Congregants built a frame church at this site in 1884, when Rev. Jeremiah McLeod (1854-1920) was pastor.
After its founding, Salem became an important institution for the local Claussen community. It was originally part of the Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) Church’s Mars Bluff Circuit and was later a charge with Wesley M.E. It became part of the Methodist Church’s Central Jurisdiction in 1939. In 1968, it joined the United Methodist Church (U.M.C.) when the black and white conferences merged.
Where it stands. 5814 Old River Rd., Florence vicinity, Florence vicinity