208-210 W. Fourth Street
On the south side of block 23 facing Fourth Street stood the Salem United Baptist Church. The church was abandoned by the parishioners and a new church was built in the late 1870’s, where the present First Baptist Chruch is located on MacArthur Street. The building on Fourth Street was a single story wooden framed structure. Later the structure became the Swiney Livery Stable. To the east of this building was a pool hall and the office for Mayor Hogle. Mayor Hogle was also a judge and Justice of the Peace for Salem. He was a native or Ireland. The Swiney Livery Stable was torn down and Sam Rubenstein had a two-story building erected on this site in 1925.
The Missouri Hotel was located on the upper level of the building with several stores being located on the lower level. The hotel had 22 rooms with steam heat and several of the rooms had a private bath. The rates were $1.25 to $2.00 per day. It was open on July 6, 1925. One of the stores that was located on the lower level was the Mason Department Store, ran by Ben Meisenberg. Other stores were the Salem Fabric Shop and Batty Bills. On September 14, 1964 as fire broke out about 1:00 AM and consumed the entire building. The Fire Department got the blaze under control about 4:00 AM. The firemen saved the rest of the businesses on the block. Nothing was left of the Missouri Hotel except a pile of smoldering rubble.
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