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Salem United Methodist Church was founded around 1819 by a group of Methodist settlers
in the Brookeville, Maryland area who held services in local homes and later in a log cabin.
Reverend Thomas McCormick, the seventh postmaster of Brookeville and a local preacher, was instrumental
in the building of the first Salem Church in 1825 in the southwest corner of the Salem Cemetery
on land given by Eliza P. Thomas.
Few records about the church exist between 1833 and August 4,1910 when the cornerstone was laid
for a new, larger church built diagonally across the road from the cemetery. The land where
Salem United Methodist Church stands today was deeded to the church by John H. Parsley.
In 1954, the church parsonage was built and an addition to the church was completed in 1977.
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Salem was part of a circuit of four churches scattered over a large area: Clarksville, Linden,
Mt. Carmel and Salem. The circuit system began in the early days of Methodism when there
were few ordained Methodist ministers so a team of ministers, or sometimes a single minister,
served a group or circuit of churches along with local preachers. In 1980, a full-time
pastor was appointed to serve Salem.
Today, Salem United Methodist Church continues collaborating with local churches in joint worship services,
community service projects and events that foster unity and embrace a broad range of people.
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