Salem, Freeman and Madrid are all former towns that were incorporated in the 19th century, and disincorporated in 1945, 1938 and 2000, respectively.

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 526 people, 210 households, and 149 families residing in the unorganized territory.

There were 350 housing units at an average density of 2.7 per square mile (1.0/km2).

There were 210 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families.

21.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.