Salem, West Virginia (WV), a community in Harrison County, was first named New Salem by settlers, Seventh Day Baptists who arrived in a caravan from Salem, New Jersey, in 1792. Salem was the first settlement of the Seventh Day Baptists west of the Allegheny Mountains. In the 1780s, Nicholas Carpenter, the first known inhabitant on Salem Fork, operated a camp and crude hotel for himself and cattle drivers bound from the West Fork River to markets on the Ohio River at Marietta. Founded in 1888, Salem College became Salem International University in 2002. The Industrial Home for Girls was established at Salem in 1898. It was the birthplace of Congressman Jennings Randolph and journalist Granville Davisson Hall.
Lodging near Salem, West Virginia
Parks & Public Recreation
The North Bend Rail Trail travels through Salem, following the route of the former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Fort New Salem, a reconstructed village enclosure from the frontier period, attracts visitors to Salem in spring, summer, and autumn, as does the nearby Fletcher Covered Bridge and Centerpoint Covered Bridge, situated five and 10 miles east and northwest of Salem, respectively.
Location
Salem is located on the US-50 expressway approximately 14 miles west of Clarksburg, West Virginia, and 15 miles east of West Union, West Virginia.
Map of Salem, West Virginia
Regional Information
Salem is located in the Monongahela Valley Region in northern West Virginia near the Heartland Region.
