A few fur trappers led by Andrew Henry arrived along the Snake River in 1810, built log shelters about five miles downstream from St. Anthony, and established Henry's Fort. Other trappers who spent time in the area included men from the Wilson Price Hunt Company and Richard "Beaver Dick" Leigh. The first permanent settlers, brothers William, Thomas, and Andy McMinn, came from Corrine, Utah, in 1879. William settled near Henry's Fort on the south side of the Snake River, while Thomas and Andy settled on the north side. Several more men arrived in 1883 to claim land, then returned to Utah for the winter and brought their families back in the spring. The pioneers lived in tents and dugouts until cabins could be built. Crops were planted, and then most of the men went to work on the railroad being built from Idaho Falls, Idaho to Butte, Montana, leaving women and children to tend the cattle and crops. Mosquitoes were so thick they caused livestock to stampede, and they sounded like rain when they struck the tents. The area between the north and south forks of the Teton River was swampy, so ditches were dug to drain the water and were later used to irrigate the land. On November 23, 1884, a meeting was held in the home of George P. Ward, where a town site was chosen and named Salem, meaning peace. A congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, and George H.B. Harris was sustained as bishop. By 1886 most of the land had been claimed. Two church houses were built and dedicated in 1885, one on Joseph Larsen's farm in the north part of Salem that also served as a school with Joseph as teacher, and the other on the town site. The town had two stores, a cheese factory, and a saloon. Clem Ward, whose horse would swim rivers, delivered mail until a post office was established in 1893.