Salem Lutheran Church (Mount Vernon, Wash.)

On January 22, 1881, Swedish pioneer missionary Peter Carlson established Bethsaida Congregation in a schoolhouse near LaConner with seven couples as charter members. By October 2, 1892 a church was dedicated.

By 1907 Swedish Lutherans from Finland had arrived in the area, and Rev. G. A. Anderson served this group which called themselves Bethesda of Cederdale.

Rev. Anderson recognized that real growth would be Mount Vernon. On May 18, 1913, 48 adults and 56 children became charter members of Salem Lutheran. Services were at first held in the Norwegian Lutheran Church. Pastor Anderson served all three congregations. Bethesda merged with Salem in 1913, and Bethsaida in 1925.

The present site was purchased in 1917. By 1919 the basement was completed. A parsonage was completed in 1920. The church was dedicated on December 7, 1926. An education wing was completed in the late 1940s and was remodeled in the late 70s.

From the guide to the Salem Lutheran Church, Mount Vernon, Washington, Records, 1913-2012, (Pacific Lutheran University)