Editing South Salem, Ohio (section)

==History==
In 1842, local [[Presbyterian Church in the United States of America|Presbyterian]] minister Hugh Stewart Fullerton orchestrated the establishment of a school in southwestern Ross County.<ref>Owen, Lorrie K., ed.  ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''.  Vol. 2.  [[St. Clair Shores, Michigan|St. Clair Shores]]: Somerset, 1999, 1223-1224.</ref>  Known as the "[[South Salem Academy|Salem Academy]]," this school became the foundation of the present village: landowner John Sample [[plat]]ted South Salem in 1846 in order better to serve the students and teachers of the school.  After two years of rapid growth, the village reached the point that it could easily serve the needs of the school, and growth ceased.  Although South Salem [[municipal corporation|incorporated]] in the 1870s, few other changes occurred during the late years of the nineteenth century.  In 1917, its population was deemed to be between 350 and 400 residents, a size that had remained consistent since the 1850s.<ref>Evans, Lyle S.  ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=mToVAAAAYAAJ A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular Attention to the Modern Era in the Commercial, Industrial, Civic and Social Development]''.  Vol. 1.  [[Chicago]] and [[New York City|New York]]: Lewis, 1917, 473-474.</ref>  The Salem Academy (by then known as the "South Salem Academy") closed in 1907 due to competition from other schools,<ref>[http://www.ohiochannel.org/your_state/remarkable_ohio/marker_details.cfm?marker_id=456&file_id=8011 Marker #4-71: Salem Academy], Ohio Channel and the [[Ohio Historical Society]], 2006.  Accessed September 2, 2010.</ref> and since that time, the village has declined in population.<ref name="GR2" />