s e r u t n e Adv
By Renee C. Gannon
Renee C. Gann
Visit Win
rks SciWo
ston-Sa
lem
RagA le L a ie
on
Visit Winston-Salem
Old Salem
Renee C
. Gannon
Pilot M ountain
Covering a the bases in Winston-Salem plit by Interstate 40 in Forsyth County, Winston-Salem is a mid-size city born from many personalities. The Moravians first settled here in 1753 at a site called Wachovia within the forks of the Muddy Creek. The villages of Bethabara and Bethania soon followed, and with the burgeoning population, the town of Salem bore its first buildings in 1766. So what about Winston? Founded in 1849, this small town and Salem were joined together by the U.S. Post Office in 1889, then officially became Winston-Salem in 1913.
S
The big Ts of the South, tobacco and textiles, fueled the city’s growth. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and the J. Wesley Hanes’s Shamrock Hosiery Mills (later Hanesbrands) employed 60 percent of the area’s 52 APRIL 2012 Carolina Country
workers. Other businesses filled in the gaps, Wachovia Bank and Trust, Texas Pete, Quality Oil, Piedmont Airlines and Krispy Kreme led the once-rural towns of Winston and Salem into the urban landscape.
Embracing the past A visit to Old Salem (www.oldsalem.org) should be on everyone’s list. Located in downtown Winston-Salem, the 2- to 3-hour walking tour highlights Moravian life in the 18th and 19th centuries. This living-history site offers craftwork demonstrations with a gunsmith, silversmith, cabinetmakers, cobblers, carpenters, potters and bakers, as well as outside events. The silversmith noted that he can create 150 silver spoons in three hours, but it then takes one hour per spoon for the finished product. Most craftsmen are located in the Single Brothers House and workshop. At this stop, visitors learn Moravians lived by the choir system, where members are separated into “choirs” by gender, age and marital status. The Single Sisters House is now a part of Salem College.