Salem Baptist Church
From 1835 to 1942, the Salem Baptist Church was a small pioneer Church that led the community in the midst of physical hardships. When fire destroyed the first log structure on the Tennessee River in 1853, the congregation moved two miles northeast and built a log meeting house where the marker stands. The Salem Church was used as a field hospital during the Civil War Battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga (1863).
On September 28, 1872, Joseph Roark deeded the site to the Church. Because of their years of faithful leadership, Maximilian Haney Conner II and Martha Palmer Conner were considered the parents of the Church. Franklin Asberry Roark spoke at the 100th anniversary on the “Future of the Church.” Sadly, in 1939, declining membership forced the Church to close. The community held its last service – the funeral of Civil War veteran John Lewis “Jack” Roark, on July 15, 1941. The building suffered a destructive fire in the late 1950s and was never rebuilt.
In 1959, Laura Roark Shropshire and her brothers Joseph (Joe), Franklin (Berry), William (Grover), and Thomas (Tom) Roark, along with a number of their children, initiated the first family Reunion. The family erected a covered structure on the property and began holding an annual memorial worship service. They sought to preserve the memory of the Church and their ancestors who had worshiped there for over a century. An annual R-CA memorial service continues to this day.
The Minutes of Salem Baptist Church, by Daniel L. Roark, provides a history of the families in the community and a genealogical record of over 175 families told through church action and membership records.
In 1976, the family of Bose Shropshire installed the historical marker (pictured above.). David Roark and Darwin Lane led the replacement of the original shelter in 2001. The marker and shelter is .3 mile south of Eldridge Road North and Birchwood Pike Intersection.
