The Salem Historic District is located along Main Street and Broadway in Salem, New York, United States. It is a 22acre area containing 79 buildings.Most of the buildings date to the 19th and early 20th centuries, and some represent important milestones in the history of Salem, possibly the oldest continuously inhabited village in the county and one of the first in the state to incorporate. The buildings that survived a devastating 1840 fire have been preserved relatively intact. In 1975 the area was recognized as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.GeographyThe district is cross-shaped. It includes all properties on either side of Main from the former Delaware and Hudson Railroad tracks on the north end to Park Place at the south. The railroad tracks' intersection with County Route 30 also serve as the western boundary, with the former county courthouse being the eastern limit along County Route 153. The boundary extends 200ft from the roads.This area of 22acre includes 79 buildings, all but ten of which date to the late 19th century. The portions of Main Street and Broadway east of it are densely developed, with commercial properties near the center yielding to residences away from them. Route 153 is less dense, with mature trees forming a buffer leading to the county courthouse complex and Salem High School.HistorySalem was first settled around 1761 by three men from Pelham, Massachusetts, making it one of the earliest settlements in the county. The site of their log cabins, long since gone, is now occupied by the Abrams Building on North Main Street. They brought their families along three years later, and obtained a patent for 25000acre of land in the area from the colonial governor after promising two colonial officials that they would give those officials half of the land. At the time the area was part of a larger subdivision known as Charlotte County.
