This card is numbered 367 in the C.U. Williams Photoette series (and numbered 6382 in the negative). It appears to be from the photographer's fall/winter visit to Salem -- note the bare trees at the curb. This card is postmarked 1912, and a comparison with a late 1930s view shows very little change to the buildings, although the businesses that occupied them did change over the next few decades. In this view Clark Bros. 5 and 10c Store occupies the ground floor of the Odd Fellows Building. On the second floor the lettering on the windows appears to read "Doctor J.L. Mitchell." The next building on the right is McClintock's Drugs (although it's impossible to decipher "McClintock" from the name painted on the windows, the building was built by Charles McClintock, with a date on its cornice that is possibly 1883). To McClintock's right stands the building identified by the History of Washington County Indiana, 1916 - 1976 as the Frick Building. It housed The Fair Store five-and-dime in the Twenties, and Salem Dry Goods in the Thirties. It burned just after World War II and was rebuilt in 1947 without its elaborate tiara. The first occupant of the rebuilt second floor front was a new dentist in town, Edgar K. DeJean, just out of the Army. The two smaller buildings at the end of the block, which look like private homes in this picture, and the history calls Hungate House, were at some point replaced by The Fair Store, later Renaker's. C. U. Williams also published a real-photo view of the Odd Fellows Building, known to me from a copy in the Indiana Historical Society's Jay Small Collection. The two view are taken from different points at different times of the year. The primary difference seems to be that Dr. Mitchell had his name repainted on the second-floor windows between Williams' visits to Salem. But it's impossible to say which view is the older of the two. This card was postmarked at New Philadelphia on Nov. 6, 1912 -- 90 years to the day, as I write this -- which means I know whose hand held the cancellation stamp. New Philadelphia was a rural crossroads about a dozen miles east of Salem. The post office there was maintained in H.H. McClellan's general store. Harry McClellan, who was my great-great-grandfather, was the postmaster until his death in 1913. The message on the card was addressed to Miss Flora Sleister (?), 501 Biglow St., Peoria, Illinois. It reads, "New Philadelphia, Ind. 11/5/12 Dear Cousin Arrived her all OK. Rained nearly all day. Stopped in Salem overnight & have had a fine time visiting with Sarah & family. All are well. How is little Arthur & all the family? Will live in Canton. Write me soon & all the news. Will send a long letter next time. From Cousin Maud Kaufman, RR 22 New Philadelphia." Canton lies about half-way between Salem and New Philadelphia. Ms. Kaufman may not have been quite acclimated to her new surroundings yet: New Philadelphia was actually Rural Route 2. (11/06/02) Home | The 1900s | Next card