Salem Congregation was organized in 1883 by a group of individuals of German ancestry who adopted the constitution of the Evangelical Lutheran Iowa Synod. For a while Salem shared a minister with a Crandon Lutheran congregation and also, since 1891, with St. John's Church, located west of Tulare. From 1902-1922 the Salem and St. John's ministers also served the German Evangelical St. Immanuels Congregation (known as the Erving Church) which was located seventeen miles northeast of Tulare. In 1904 the Salem Congregation affiliated with the German Evangelical Synod of North America, drew up a new constitution and was then known as the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church. Due to national mergers of synods the name was changed to Evangelical and Reform Church in 1934. In 1957, a merger with the Congregational denomination changed the name to The United Church of Christ. Services in German were first held in a school house and in 1898 when the parish acquired a parsonage, the services were held in the parsonage. Salem Congregation built their church in 1911. The present parsonage was built in 1927. The last German service was held on August 22, 1937.

In July, 1965, the congregations of Salem United Church of Christ, St. John's United Church of Christ and the Tulare Methodist Church joined in forming the Tri-Church Parish. The three shared a minister who conducted two services each Sunday morning; early services were held at St. John's Church, west of Tulare, and a second service for the Salem and Methodist congregations at one of their church buildings in Tulare. These same three churches have now joined as one congregation, The Tulare United Church. The Salem United Church of Christ building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.