Originally inhabited by the Moravian community in 1766, Old Salem is a historic district in the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. As part of its living history museum, administered by the non-profit Old Salem Museums & Gardens, established as Old Salem Inc., which interprets the rebuilt Moravian hamlet, this small city is home to a number of other attractions.
Even though some individual households had renovated buildings before to 1950, the non-profit group began its work in 1950. This historic district, known as the Old Salem Historic District, was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1966 and subsequently enlarged in 2016.
The district preserves the culture of the Moravian community in North Carolina throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, including communal buildings, churches, residences, and businesses, as well as other historic structures.
The Salem Tavern and the Single Brothers’ House are two buildings that have been listed as National Historic Landmarks. The National Register of Historic Places has been expanded to include more buildings and sites that contribute to the preservation of the historic region.
Old Salem, Inc., the Wachovia Historical Society, individual owners, Salem College and Academy, and the Salem Congregation all have interests in the buildings and land, which are shared among them.
Originally, members of the Moravian Church, a Protestant church that originated in 1457 among supporters of John Huss in the Kingdom of Bohemia and Moravia, which is now a part of the Czech Republic, established Salem.
They finally found refuge on the domain of Count Zinzendorf, a Saxon nobleman, in 1722, where they were given permission to establish the village of Herrnhut as their permanent residence. They arrived in North America in 1735 and established their first settlement in Savannah, Georgia. In 1740, they relocated to Pennsylvania, where Salem was to serve as the center of a 98,985-acre property known as Wachovia. Construction on the Wachovia tract’s commercial, religious, and administrative hub began in 1766 with the construction of the major economic, religious, and administrative center. The outlying communities, which totaled five in all and were Bethabara, Bethania, Friedberg, Friedland, and Hope, were more rural and agriculturally oriented than the main city.
Most of the other villages, including Salem, were under the jurisdiction of the church, which owned all of the land and simply leased it for construction purposes. All residents of the communities were required to be members of the church and were subject to expulsion from the town if they violated the rules and regulations of the community.
Ryan’s Restaurant
Winston Salem Deck Builders