The picturesque nature of the Salem Church and its surroundings with the old Baptistery encircled with oak tress a hundred yards or so from the front of the church made this church and cemetery an ideal place of worship and a serene resting place in this quaint  Adelaide Hills township.

An old record indicates that from the commencement of the meetings attendances were good considering the scattered nature of the population.  In the year 1845 Mr Randell suggested the desirability of erecting a building for public worship and promised to give the land and provide a considerable portion of the cost necessary for the purpose.  The matter was put in hand the same year and at the end of February 1846, a building was opened for worship.  The services on the opening day were conducted by Mr Thomas Playford (great grandfather of the Hon. T Playford, former Premier of South Australia.

In 1862 the original building (which is in the front portion of the church building today) was found too small to accommodate those who assembled there for worship.  It was therefore decided that the building which had served for twelve years should be enlarged.