Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Salem, an Ozark plateau town, 1,180 feet above sea level, was laid out, 1851, as the seat of newly organized Dent County. The town was named by early settler David R. Henderson for Salem, North Carolina, and the county honors local pioneer and Missouri legislator Lewis Dent.

Before dawn on Dec. 3, 1861, a skirmish took place here that is often called the Battle of Salem. About 120 Union troops led by Maj. W.D. Bowen defeated around 300 pro-Southern state troops led by Col. T.R. Freeman and remained in control of Salem, strategic point on the road to the railway terminus at Rolla. Union forces occupied Salem throughout the war, except briefly in 1864, when raiders burned the courthouse and jail. The courthouse was rebuilt, 1870.

Salem grew with the coming of the St. Louis, Salem, and Little Rock R.R. (Frisco), 1872, and with the development of iron resources in the area in the 1870's. Dent County, with 33 iron mines, was one of the state's top producers until 1915. Northeast is Sligo, once a booming company town. A furnace was put in blast there, 1880.

Salem, seat of a farming and lumbering county, lies in a region of level plateau and rigged hills, territory claimed by the Osage tribes until their 1808 land cession. The first pioneers largely from Tennessee, came to settle the area in the 1820's. The first school chartered in the county was Union Independent Academy, to the south at Lake Springs, 1857. The Salem Academy opened in a newly completed building, 1872.

Montauk State Park, southwest of Salem, was acquired by the state in 1927. There, 930 feet above sea level, in a setting of timbered hills, Montauk Springs emerge in an open valley to send forth daily some 40 million gallons to form the headwaters of the beautiful, spring-fed Current River.

Indian Trail State Forest, northeast of Salem, was established in 1924. The White River Trail, much used by the Indians and later by the pioneers, passed through Dent County northeastward, crossing the forest. To the east, Dent County forms a part of Clark National Forest, established, 1933-39. Seeps and springs in the forest form the source of the historic Meramec River.

Comments (2)

Jim Kuntz: ... Town of Sligo, kept the furnace until the 1960's, when Interstate traffic took tourist away. Today Two homes, a Methodist Church are all that remain of the town. Locals told me the site of the Marker is the origianal site of County court house, burnt down in 1864. Court house shown above was built in 1870. 1 July 26, 2006 Jim Kuntz: ... The first stage of land acquisition for Clark National Forest, ran from 1934 to 1940. Clark National Forest was combined with the Mark Twain National Forest in 1976. 2 July 27, 2006

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