Salem Mennonite Church (Baker, West Virginia, USA)
Salem Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church) is a rural mission church at Baker, Hardy County, West Virginia, under the Virginia Mennonite Conference. In 1868 ministers from Broadway, Virginia, traveled 45 miles to Bean Settlement, 6 miles north of this church, and preached at a schoolhouse, giving pastoral care to a few members living there. Later they also preached at the Mine Spring schoolhouse nearby.
In 1927 a church was built here, which was enlarged in 1948 by adding two Sunday-school rooms. This congregation is the result of one of the first efforts of rural evangelism of the Northern District of the Virginia Conference. The membership in 1957 was 113; the pastor was Samuel A. Shank.
In 2010 the amembership was 20 and the congregation was a member of the Mountain Valley Mennonite Churches. The pastor was Ortho Horst.
Bibliography
Anabaptist (Mennonite) Directory 2011. Harrisonburg, VA: The Sword and Trumpet, 2011: 65.
Additional Information
Address: 3836 Parker Hollow Road, Baker, WV 26801
Phone: 304-897-7597
Denominational Affiliation:
Mountain Valley Mennonite Churches
Ordained Pastors at Salem Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Samuel A. Shank | 1931?-1972 |
| Arland Schrock | 1970-2000? |
| Otho H. Horst | 2001?-2012? |
| James D. Rhodes | 2005?-2012? |
| Craig Good | 2012?-present |
Membership at Salem Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1931 | 61 |
| 1935 | 87 |
| 1940 | 43 |
| 1945 | 48 |
| 1950 | 81 |
| 1955 | 119 |
| 1960 | 110 |
| 1965 | 93 |
| 1970 | 97 |
| 1975 | 85 |
| 1980 | 46 |
| 1985 | 55 |
| 1990 | 54 |
| 1995 | 42 |
| 2000 | 36 |
| 2005 | 30 |
| 2010 | 20 |
| Author(s) | Timothy Showalter |
|---|---|
| Richard D. Thiessen | |
| Date Published | April 2019 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Showalter, Timothy and Richard D. Thiessen. "Salem Mennonite Church (Baker, West Virginia, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 2019. Web. 1 Feb 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Salem_Mennonite_Church_(Baker,_West_Virginia,_USA)&oldid=163822.
APA style
Showalter, Timothy and Richard D. Thiessen. (April 2019). Salem Mennonite Church (Baker, West Virginia, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 1 February 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Salem_Mennonite_Church_(Baker,_West_Virginia,_USA)&oldid=163822.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 406. All rights reserved.
©1996-2026 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.