Current home of H & R BLOCK – BLOCK 15
A tobacco barn was located here and during the Civil War a part of the Batttle of Salem was fought here. Later the building was torn down and the lot was used as a storage for barrels of salt, factory wagons, plows, etc., that were owned by A. H. AND H. B. Clark. At one time, there was a well dug on this spot. Louis Fischer bought the lot and built the present day Fischer Building. Mr. Fischer ran a mercantile until his death. An embalmer and undertaker, J. D. Musgraves, occupied the first floor of the building and later it was Day and Stephens Hardware.
The second floor was The Opera House. The opra house had ornate painted panels on the walls, pictures of famous Shakespearian actors of the time and a stage with curtains. The room was lit with kerosene lamps and chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. School graduation exercises were held here, along with Alumni Association events. This building was later sold to Professor J. W. Hunt, who in turn, sold it to the Salem Masonic Lodge. The lodge remodeled the interior of the Opera House. This is still the home of the Salem Masonic Lodge.
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