Salem Cementery from the past yet still serving

Northwest of Pine Bluffs, about 12 miles, is the Salem Cemetery. Mark Lanning, is a board member, as well as, now the Secretary of the Salem Cemetery Association. Per Lanning, confusion regarding the name of the small town Lindbergh, is that it once was named Salem. However Salem was a community about a mile west of the cemetery.

Salem Post Office was established on December 24, 1888 with Swan J. Falk as postmaster. It was discontinued on April 15, 1914, per Wyoming State Library website.

Lindbergh (named for Charles A. Linbergh, American aviation ace) Post Office was established on May 31, 1929 with Flora L. West as postmaster. It was discontinued on July 31, 1950, per Wyoming State Library website. The town Per Lanning was established by the railroad, it had a general store, church, parsonage, post office and the beginning of the elevator. Mr. Lanning believes the elevator in the beginning handled horses. There was also a train depot for passenger to that could ride. The passenger train, Lanning believes, started at Egbert and would turn around somewhere around Hawk Springs. A house along with the parsonage has been moved to Pine Bluffs and now have people living in them. "The Depot was sold off, moved down the hill 2 miles, which wasn't bad until they got to the top of the hill, then it kind of got a head of them" said Lanning.

As you can see by the dates of the Post Office establishment, it does not seem that they were the same town. What remains in Linbergh now is a few old foundations as well as the old grain elevator. As far as Salem, there is a line of trees, that was the wind break and a couple of foundations left.

Now days Mark and Deanna Lanning are the keepers of the books and grounds. Since Lanning has just been given the old ledgers this last year, the plans for Salem Cemetery is spending this winter "digging" into the books to do some updating. Lanning commented that there is people buried in the Cemetery from the early 1900 and that there is a "rumor" that there may or may not be an unmarked grave of a cowboy that was traveling through the area. The rumor is that the cowboy was kind of ornery and liked to play with the girls in the area and just disappeared.