Salem United Methodist Church is celebrating 150 years of faith and service with a special worship service and celebration this Sunday morning at 11.
The service will feature Rev. Zach Roberts, superintendent of the Northeast District of the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church, who will deliver the message. A luncheon will follow in the fellowship hall.
Known as the “Mother of Fulton County Churches,” Salem United Methodist Church traces its roots to the first organized religious efforts in what is now Fulton County. The Methodist movement in the area likely began around 1836, with a church initially organized at the Hubble family home on the South Fork River, about three miles north of Salem.
Members of the Hubble, Archer, Hunter, Wells, and Isenhouer families helped sustain the early congregation despite challenges such as long travel distances. The church persisted until Salem was established in the 1840s.
In 1874, the first Methodist church in Salem was founded on land deeded by John and Rebecca Saunders, the site of the current church. A frame building was constructed in 1885 under the leadership of Rev. John M. Steele, but it was destroyed by a tornado on March 28, 1924. The present church structure was completed in the late 1920s.
The public is invited to attend Sunday’s celebration and worship service.
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