West Salem, Illinois
| West Salem, Illinois | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
 Location of West Salem in Edwards County, Illinois. |
|
.svg) Location of Illinois in the United States |
|
| Coordinates: 38°31′16″N 88°0′32″W / 38.52111°N 88.00889°WCoordinates: 38°31′16″N 88°0′32″W / 38.52111°N 88.00889°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Edwards |
| Established | February 8, 1857 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.57 sq mi (4.06 km2) |
| • Land | 1.57 sq mi (4.06 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 897 |
| • Estimate (2016) | 871 |
| • Density | 555.13/sq mi (214.36/km2) |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP Code(s) | 62476 |
| Area code(s) | 618 |
| FIPS code | 17-80853 |
| West Salem, Illinois | |
West Salem is a village in Edwards County, Illinois, United States. The population was 897 at the 2010 census, down from 1,001 at the 2000 census.
According to tradition, in 1830 a man named Walser traveled through the area where the town later was located. When he returned home to Salem, North Carolina, he told of the beautiful forests, prairies, streams, and wild game he had seen. A number of Moravian families, hearing these reports, moved from North Carolina to take up land in this area. The earliest of these settlers was Adam Hedrick, who purchased his land on August 25, 1830. Second was Peter Hinkle, who claimed his land on May 30, 1831.
From 1841 to 1846 the new Moravian settlers were working with the headquarters of the southern province of the Moravian Church in Salem (Old Salem), North Carolina, in establishing a congregation. William Eberman, the Moravian pastor at Hope, Indiana, was sent to visit and preach for them in the fall of 1841. Many other settlers followed, until by 1843, more than 80 families lived within a 3-mile (4.8 km) radius of what was to become West Salem, most of them Moravians. But in 1843, it was Martin Hauser, a Moravian home missionary also from Hope, Indiana, who would be instrumental not only in starting a Moravian Church, but also in helping to establish the town. On Saturday, May 25, 1844, a meeting was held in Peter Hinkle's barn, where heads of 15 families came forward and signed the Brotherly Agreement and Constitution that formed the new Moravian congregation. On his way home to Hope, in 1845, Hauser stopped at the federal land Office in Palestine, Illinois, to buy, in the name of the church, 120 acres (0.49 km2) of land on which West Salem is presently located. He was acting as attorney-in-fact for Rev. Charles Kluge, President of the Synod of the Southern Provincial Conference of the Moravian Church of North America.
In the years that followed, the new community of West Salem began to thrive but also to experience challenges as well. In 1849, more than 60 immigrants from Germany arrived, hoping to build homes and gravitating towards the Moravian Church. They were warmly received, but before long trouble developed between the Germans and the original English-speaking settlers. Language differences caused part of the difficulty, but the old German ideas and customs added to it. The congregations separated into "divisions", one English and one German, each with its own official board and its own pastor, but sharing the use of the church building and cemetery. After nine years of this arrangement, they became two separate congregations on February 7, 1858. The Germans retained the old church, and the English built a new church on the south side of the public square. This building was dedicated on August 14, 1859. The English retained the old cemetery, while the Germans laid out a cemetery adjacent to it. On April 10, 1892, the German congregation dedicated a new building, the present Moravian Church. Eventually the German American group began using the English language and gradually came to accept American ways. On June 13, 1925, the two congregations were reunited. The two cemeteries, which were gradually growing together, also were united at that time.
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