James Solomon Sims, a missionary from Melissa, founded this church when he began services in the home of Mary Janie Moore in 1888. In 1891, the Reverends I. Tollivar and Allen R. Griggs organized the church and named it Salem Baptist Church. The church's first pastor, the Rev. C.N. Pryor, was called two years later. A simple frame building was constructed. Due to church growth, the church was rebuilt in 1911, 1917, 1922 and 1932. In 1947, the church relocated to 710 Bourbon Street. In 1959, the Rev. Luther Butler Nelson led Salem to organize and sponsor the Mayo Kindergarten School in West Dallas. City expansion projects led the Texas Highway Department to purchase Salem's property on Bourbon St., and the church relocated to Eugene and Crozier, a farming community of freedmen known as The Prairie, but later known as Queen City. Around this time, the church was renamed to Salem Institutional Baptist Church. The building, designed by architect Thomas Knowles, was dedicated in June 1963. Salem got right to work in its new location. The church offered financial assistance to lessen the burden of educational and medical expenses for many in the community. Salem served as host to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and organized a civil rights parade. Before the Rev. Nelson died in 1968, he worked to save an early neighborhood cemetery, which was then renamed after him in 1971. The 1970s saw Salem host the 38th annual Baptist Sunday School and Baptist Training Union Congress. In the following decades, Salem continued to reach out to the community through food ministries, education and advocacy. In 1988, Salem received special recognition from city and state officials in celebration of its 100th anniversary. (2022)