The Methodist Episcopal Church of Salem was established in 1841 when the Methodist Mission moved its headquarters to Salem.[5]Jason Lee was one of the 13 charter members of the church, and David Leslie was the first pastor.[5] Initially the church met in a room at the Oregon Institute.[5] 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.[5] By 1870, the congregation had outgrown this building and they began construction of the current sanctuary building at the same location.[5] The brick Gothic Revival-style church was completed in 1878, despite a national depression and other difficulties.[5]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.[4][6] Local architect Wilbur F. Boothby supervised the construction.[4]
Additions to the building in 1935 and 1967 were designed to harmonize with the original building's Gothic style.[7] The original 185-foot wooden spire, which makes the church the tallest building in Salem, was replaced in 1984.[7][8] The sanctuary was remodeled in 1953 to add an Aeolian-Skinnerpipe organ, a chancelrose window, new altar, pulpit, and pews.[7] Additional renovations to the interior occurred in 1981 and 1988.[7] In 2000, the organ acquired its full rank of pipes.[7]
First United purchased the historic Salem Elks building adjacent to the church in 1992 and renamed it MICAH (Methodist Inner-city Community Activities House).[7] The building houses a youth center, the United Methodist Archives for the Oregon-Idaho Conference, an area for informal worship services, and several community outreach organizations.[7]
"Register of Historic Sites". United Methodist Church General Commission on Archives & History. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2008.