Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county chair of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Salem next Roanoke County, which surrounds both Salem and the against City of Roanoke, for statistical purposes. Salem has its own courthouse and sheriff’s office, but shares a jail similar to Roanoke County, which is located in the Roanoke County Courthouse complex in Salem. The Roanoke County Sheriff’s Office and Roanoke County Department of Social Services are along with located within Salem, though the county administrative offices are located in unincorporated Cave Spring.

Roanoke College is located in the city. Salem is next the home to a youngster league baseball team, the Salem Red Sox.

The primordial history of Salem exists as archaeological evidence of Native American tribes from as far back as 8000 B.C. until the middle of the 18th century. Europeans first explored the Place of Salem in 1671, when the Siouan-speaking Totero people had a village nearby. Explorers Thomas Batts and Robert Fallam gave the Place its first recorded name: Totero Town, after this tribe, who supplied them subsequent to a guide to help with new exploration. Fort Lewis, named for General Andrew Lewis, of what is now Roanoke County, was built west of the town in 1752. Salem’s Andrew Lewis Middle School (formerly Andrew Lewis High School) was named after General Lewis. Salem became a small settlement serving travelers on the Great Road (roughly the similar path followed by US-11 and higher Interstate 81 today) and was officially founded in 1802, receiving its charter in 1806. It is not known why the town was named Salem; the most widely accepted savings account is that it was named to praise William Bryan, a prominent citizen, who had moved from Salem, New Jersey.

Salem was attacked twice by the Union Army during the American Civil War, but its Salem Flying Artillery is said to have ablaze the last Confederate shot at Appomattox Court House prior to Robert E. Lee’s surrender.