Salem was in the early 19th century a rural agricultural area, which was incorporated out of its neighboring towns in 1819, when its population was at its 19th-century height of just over 1,000. Before this time, it lacked any sort of town civic or commercial center, since those other towns provided most of the necessary services. Its center developed along the major road through the town, now CT 85, in a somewhat haphazard manner except for the constellation of buildings surrounding the modest town green. These are the c. 1840 Greek Revival Congregational Church, the Queen Anne Grange Hall (built in 1885 as a school), and the old Town House. The Town House is one of the district's oldest buildings, constructed in 1749 in Norwich and moved here in 1831 by an Episcopal congregation that added its Gothic Revival features. The congregation died out soon afterward, and the building was acquired by the town for municipal functions; it now houses the local historical society.
