Salem is an unincorporated community in Bastrop County, Texas, United States.[1] The town is one of 17 communities named Salem in the state.[2] It is located within the Greater Austin metropolitan area.

Salem, Bastrop County, Texas
Unincorporated community
Salem Show map of Texas Salem Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 29°50′40″N 97°19′43″W
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Bastrop
Elevation	476 ft (145 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)	512 & 737
GNIS feature ID	1379007[1]

History

Originally called St. Philip's Colony, the agricultural community was first populated by slaves freed following the Civil War.[3] Since it was paired with the white town of Jeddo, it is unclear how many people lived in Salem.[2] St. Philip's Church and several houses were already in existence when the school was built. The religious denomination of the church is unknown.[2] St. Philips Church and several houses have marked Salem on county maps from the 1940s to the 2010s, but no population estimates are available.[3]

Geography

Salem is located 2 mi (3.2 km) northwest of Jeddo in southern Bastrop County.[3] It is also located 25 miles south of the town of Bastrop and 50 miles southeast of Austin.

Education

A two-room, one-teacher schoolhouse for 29 children was constructed in 1881. In 1905, the school had 55 students.[3] It merged with the Jeddo district when the county instituted a school district system in 1907.[3] The ruins of the old school still exist.[2] Today, the community is served by the Smithville Independent School District.

References