Salem First United Methodist Church

Salem First United Methodist Church is a Methodist congregation and historic church in Salem, Oregon, United States. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places under its original name, First Methodist Episcopal Church of Salem, in 1983. First United is the oldest Methodist church west of the Rocky Mountains, and is a designated United Methodist Heritage Landmark. It is one of Oregon's few high-style Gothic Revival churches outside of Portland, and has one of the rare tall spires left standing in the state.
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Salem was established in 1841 when the Methodist Mission moved its headquarters to Salem. Jason Lee was one of the 13 charter members of the church, and David Leslie was the first pastor. Initially the church met in a room at the Oregon Institute. After about 10 years, the congregation grew, and in 1853 they were able to build a small wooden frame building at the southeast corner of Church and State streets. By 1870, the congregation had outgrown this building and they began construction of the current sanctuary building at the same location. The brick Gothic Revival-style church was completed in 1878, despite a national depression and other difficulties. Cass Chapman, a Chicago architect who designed a number of buildings at Cornell College, supplied the plans, which were reduced in scale by one-eighth in order to lower building costs. Local architect Wilbur F. Boothby supervised the construction.

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