Salisbury (Salem)

History

The McLaughlin and Rusk families were bound together by marriage and kinship. Both families, who originated from Cavan County, Ireland, arrived in Canada during the mid-1850s. There were four McLaughlin brothers, George, James, William and Robert and two cousins, Sarah Jane and a second William. The Rusk family included William and a sister.

After journeying across the Atlantic and down the St. Lawrence River, the group ended up in Darlington Township, while they awaited completion of the Elderslie Township survey. During their wait, William Rusk and Sarah Jane McLaughlin and William McLaughlin and Rusk’s sister married in a joint ceremony that took place in Bowmanville. Shortly thereafter the group headed up to their new home in Elderslie Township.

Rusk and McLaughlin both settled on the 10th concession, Rusk on Lot 7 and McLaughlin on Lot 15. In 1856, McLaughlin’s youngest brother Robers joined him, settling on Lot 14. Robert travelled up through Simcoe County, stopping at Eugenia Falls, and marvelled at their beauty and splendour. He then travelled on foot from Collingwood to Elderslie. After clearing the land, and building a barn and log home, he returned to Bowmanville in 1858 to pick up his bride, Jane Jardine. The couple then headed back northward to their new home.

The church was an important part of their lives. Until they built a church, the congregation held services in Robert and Jane’s home or barn. They had no minister, apart from the occasional visit from a travelling minister or student. The following year, both Robert and William each donated a half acre of land for construction of a church and cemetery. A small frame church, named Salem Presbyterian Church followed in 1859.

The original frame church was lovingly built. The building stood 9 X 9 metres with most of the materials, including the shingles hand made. The building had a set of double doors facing north that opened into a lobby with a second set of double doors leading to the sanctuary. For a country church, the interior was quite elaborate. They adorned the wall with wainscoting with the upper area plastered and then papered. There were four windows on each side with a chandelier in the centre of the ceiling. Additional lighting was provided by lamps along the walls. Two wood stoves provided heat during the winter.

As the population grew so did the church with a 6-metre addition lengthwise. George Bremner served as the first minister from 1860 to 1870. They organized Sunday school classes as soon as the church first opened.

Unfortunately school quickly degenerated into a simmering bone of contention. There was no school on the 10th concession and children had to walk, either to the school in Gillies Hill or the Snell’s school, S.S. #9, on the 12th concession. The roads were poor, the winters harsh and parents were understandably concerned about their children having to walk long distances.

In 1873 they got wind of a similar situation in the settlement of Cantire located on the 4th concession. The Salem residents joined forces with the residents of Cantire who were circulating a petition to present to the Township Council requesting schools on the 4th and 10th concessions. After the authorities refused their request, both groups hired a lawyer, Alexander Shaw of Walkerton, and proceeded to sue the township. An arbitration panel comprised of a number of Elderslie officials, handled to lawsuit, eventually deciding in favour of both groups. William Hall donated a piece of land on Lot 11 for the new Salem school, S.S. #11, which finally opened in 1876.

Salem was primarily a farming hamlet and had little in the way of commercial enterprise. A.S. Elliot owned saw and grist mills, located on his farm on the 11th concession. In 1886 he sold the farm to George McKay, who relocated both of the mills to Chesley. Thomas Follis operated a blacksmith shop for many years. In 1888 he opened a post office under the name of Ravelston, likely because the name Salem was already in use. The post office was located across from the church and received twice-weekly mail deliveries. In 1891, they officially changed the post office name to Salisbury. Didn’t matter. Locally, the name “Salem” stuck. Other postmasters included George McKay, Albert McLaughlan and Hugh Davis. Davis operated the post office out of his home from 1900-10 until rural mail delivery arrived.

Residents during the 1890s included Donald McCalder, a bee keeper, who later bought the blacksmith shop and Gibson McLaughlin, a carpenter and son of William McLaughlin, who later moved to Manitoba. Salem’s population during this time was about 100.

White brick was a thing in Salem during the early 1900s. The congregation built a white brick manse opposite the church in 1901. They followed it up with a new white brick school, built at a cost of $1147, a year later. Religious activities were always the primary focus in Salem where social events were generally an opportunity to raise money for the church. In 1893 the congregation began hosting the first of many garden parties. The first party raised enough money to purchase an organ for the church. A Ladies Aid, organized in 1914, planned work bees and organized fundraising projects that included box socials, bazaars, bake-sales, garden parties and fowl suppers. They used to money raised from these events for church maintenance with the remainder going to missions and various charities.

By 1923, white brick was out. The congregation took the opportunity to replace the aging frame church with an attractive red brick building. Members of the congregation erected the church in lightning speed. The manse served as a temporary church during the construction phase. The new building stood about 12 X 12 metres feet and had a concrete foundation and basement floor. Heating was provided by a furnace installed in the basement. Following a similar decorating scheme, they adorned the interior with wainscoting that reached up to the gothic windows. They plastered the walls above and topped the ceiling with a dome. A new organ replaced the old one. Rather than demolishing the old church, they moved it to a nearby farm and converted it to a drive shed.

Church alignments changed following church union in 1925. The Salem congregation voted to remain Presbyterian and became part of a three-point charge along with Gillies Hill and Paisley. The Gillies Hill church closed in 1936 and many in that congregation moved over to the Salem church. The church continued to see many improvements over the years. These included a new drive shed in 1927, a piano to replace the organ in 1944, and an electric organ to replace the piano around 1964. The Ladies Aid remained active and continued their fundraising efforts throughout the church’s history.

Like the church, the school saw many upgrades over the years. They began by re-bricking the porch in 1951 and then clearing and levelling the yard the following year. Two years later, the school acquired a new maple floor. The school averted a potential disaster two years later when the ceiling collapsed. Fortunately the building was empty at the time. The school closed in 1964 following centralization of the school system. The property reverted back to the owner.

In 1959 the congregation held a special service to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Salem Presbyterian Church. Memorial gifts included a communion table, communion case and library books. However the church’s days were clearly numbered. As farms grew larger and the population began to disperse, it was no longer feasible to keep the church open. They held the last service on October 24, 1969. The church stood until 1996, when it finally met the wrecker’s ball.

Today a small handful of people continue to call Salem home. The area is now primarily farmland. A cairn with engravings of both the old and new churches sits on the former church site. The cemetery, located behind where the church once stood, remains in use. The schoolhouse, surrounded by playground equipment, remains in use as a private school.