The Salem Historical Society was formed in 1947, with Roy W. Harris as president.

The Salem Historical Society Museum is a nonprofit volunteer organization that maintains four buildings to house and display many historical artifacts. Its purpose is to collect, explain, and preserve Salem's history.

In December, 1971, W. Ray Pearce donated the first museum, Pearce Building, at 208 South Broadway Avenue in memory of his wife, Elizabeth. The corner brick building, Schell Building, was purchased in 1974 and the two were then connected. In 1979 a meeting room was added in the back of the Schell Building with a grant from the Salem Community Foundation.

Freedom Hall was built in 1987 as a replica of Liberty Hall, a carpenter shop once used by abolitionists to have secret meetings in an upstairs room above the shop.  Freedom Hall houses memorabilia relating to Salem's anti-slavery movement.  It houses items from the local abolitionists as well as artifacts from World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War.

Our newest addition, The Dale Shaffer Research Library, was the dream of Dale Shaffer, noted Salem historian and author.  He helped to plan the design and then left his entire estate to the Historical Society to ensure its construction.  It was dedicated August 7, 2012.  The Library houses the research room, a staff working room, offices, the Gift Shop, the Meeting Room, and the Industrial Display.

There are hundreds of special artifacts on display at the Salem Historical Museum.  These objects, legacies of yesteryear, give life to the past including old photos, antique industrial products, ethnic collections, and articles of daily life from yesteryear.  Over 12 rooms in the four buildings offer theme contents. The collections are a meaningful and tangible part of our Salem heritage and cover a wide range of topics:  

• One-Room School 
• Clothing Room 
• Doctor's Office 
• Vintage Kitchen 
• Dining Room 
• General Store 
• Music and Sports Room 
• Colonial Bedroom 
• Victorian Parlor 
• Toy Room 
• Industrial Display 
• Special Exhibits
• Heritage Garden