Salem Church traces its roots to one of the community’s earliest congregations. By 1870, shortly after the Willis brothers donated land for the railroad townsite, a group of Black farmers in the area had already organized a Methodist congregation—the very first church in Willis. This predated the white Baptist church (organized 1872) and the first white Methodist church (built 1879). The congregation eventually became known as Salem Church A.M.E. (African Methodist Episcopal), serving local families for generations in a modest wood-frame building.

Over the decades the church fell silent. By 2018 it was already noted as an old, falling-down structure that deserved preservation as a historic site. A 2023 exploration called it “The Salem Church of Texas,” with framing possibly dating to the late 1800s or early 1900s (though interior paneling reflects mid-20th-century updates). Today the building stands abandoned, its weathered boards and quiet grounds a reminder of lives once centered there. An associated cemetery nearby holds graves from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, inviting reflection on the farmers, families, and faithful who built and sustained the congregation.

Even now the site continues to draw visitors. On a mild day in late February 2026, I met a fellow explorer who I hadn't seen in person in almost four years. We caught up over stories, took photographs of the crumbling landmark, and walked the graveyard together, quietly wondering about the everyday lives of those buried there. In moments like these, Salem Church’s history feels alive once more—not just in records, but in the footsteps and shared memories of those who still seek it out.