Old Salem Visitors Guide

visitor’s guide to salem god’s acre

vierling barn

home moravian church

vierling house c.winkler bakery

square

market-fire engine house

blum house

salem academy and college

moravian book & gift shop

salem tavern museum tavern barn

mayberry’s

st. philips heritage center african moravian log church

t. bagge merchant & garden shop

a. butner hat shop

st. philips african moravian church

coffee pot shultz shoemaker shop

miksch gardens and house

graveyards timothy vogler gunsmith shop triebel lot garden

fruit orchard

volz field

museum of early southern decorative arts frank l. horton museum center

single brothers’ house

salt street gardens single brothers’ garden

the tavern in old salem

tavern meadow

tavern woodshed

old salem visitor center old salem candy shop & marketplace heritage bridge

h e l pf u l i n f o rmat i o n

tickets

Most exhibit buildings in the historic area require an All-in-One Old Salem ticket. This ticket entitles the bearer entrance to all exhibit buildings and MESDA. Ticket options are available, and tickets can be purchased for either one or two consecutive days. Ticket prices are posted at the Old Salem Visitor Center or online at www.oldsalem.org. Children age 5 and under receive free admission.

memberships

Like what you see? Consider purchasing a Friends of Old Salem Membership and enjoy free admission on your next visit. With several levels of membership options,

you can select the best membership for you and your family. Friends Memberships can be purchased anywhere tickets are sold, by calling (336) 721-7333, or online at www.oldsalem.org.

visitors with special needs

Because many of our exhibit buildings are original buildings, some but not all of them are accessible to our guests with wheelchairs or other disabilities. To receive a special map outlining the accessible buildings, please see one of our Visitor Center representatives. Printed foreign-language guides to Old Salem and MESDA are available upon request at the Old Salem Visitor Center ticket and information desk.

please note

To continue preserving our collections for future generations, we ask that you please discard of all food, drinks and gum before entering the museum buildings.

Strollers and pets are not permitted inside Old Salem exhibit buildings.

For your safety, please do not sit on, lean on or touch museum objects or furniture unless a staff member invites you to do so.

Some buildings in the historic district are private residences and, therefore, are not open for touring.

Please respect our residents’ property, gardens and pets.

Photography for personal use is permitted in most museum buildings, provided the flash is not used. Flash photography, over time, causes harm to original objects in our museum collection.

Please help preserve history by following these simple rules.

african american and strangers graveyards

Between 1775 and 1815, this graveyard was used by the Moravians to bury non-Moravians who were living near or traveling through Salem at the time of their death. From 1816 to 1859, it was used as the African American cemetery. At least 131 people are buried in this graveyard.

timothy vogler gunsmith shop, 1831

visitor’s guide to salem ex h i b it s it e s

= ticket required for entrance old salem visitor center

The Old Salem Visitor Center is home to the ticket and information desk, the Old Salem Candy Shop & Marketplace Shop and the Old Salem Souvenir Shop.

The center is also the location of the James A. Gray, Jr. Auditorium, which houses the 1800 David Tannenberg Organ–the largest of nine surviving Tannenberg organs.

frank l. horton museum center

The Horton Museum Center houses the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts and is open to the public; ticket required for exhibit areas.

the museum of early southern decorative arts (mesda)

showcases furniture, ceramics, textiles, metals, and paintings crafted in the early South.

Described as the most authentically restored early gunsmith shop in America, today skilled tradesmen practice the trades of gunsmith and blacksmith in the freestanding shop.

salem tavern museum, 1784

When first built, the tavern was on the outskirts of town to minimize the influence of “outsiders” on the community. Nevertheless, the flow of travelers through the tavern was critical to the business interests of Salem’s craftsmen and merchants.

african moravian log church, 1823 reconstructed

The Log Church on this site was the first church in Salem built specially for an African American congregation.

During the mid-19th century, worship at the log church was a major event. Today the building is used for special programming.

Originally the home of the community store, this shop now offers a variety of gifts and reproductions, including a garden shop.

winkler bakery, 1800

Bread, cookies and other baked goods are still made in a wood-fired oven and sold on the street level of this essential town building.

the tavern in old salem, 1816

Once the home and shop of a Salem printer, the Blum House now houses the exhibit Recording Salem: Printers and Photographers.

This former annex of the first tavern in Salem now contains the The Tavern in Old Salem, where a selection of traditional and modern fare is available for lunch or dinner.

shultz shoemaker shop, 1827

mayberry’s

After operating his shoemaking business from his home for eight years, Samuel Shultz built a separate shop next door. In 1827 he began making shoes and a few other leather items from this shop.

Located above the Winkler Bakery, Mayberry’s offers sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs and milkshakes – the perfect place to stop for lunch.

market-fire engine house, reconstructed

single brothers’ house, 1769/1786

This large building served as a home and spiritual center for unmarried men in Salem. Today, this building showcases a variety of trades the Salem men would have learned and practiced, including pottery, joinery and tailor work.

miksch gardens and house, 1771

This is the most intensive living history site in Salem. Here visitors interact with interpreters, assist with the activities of the day in the garden and kitchen and learn about the settlement of Wachovia.

vierling house, 1802

volz field

Stacked rail and snake-rail fencing surrounds this meadow, which seasonally features field crops grown in Salem.

tavern meadow

Used to pasture the horses of Tavern guests, this grassy meadow is surrounded by a rail fence that supports native grapes and other vines.

single brothers’ garden

In 1769 the Single Brothers began construction and cultivation of this expansive garden laid out in large squares, on earthen terraces. It is planted with crops representative of what they would have grown in their garden and fields.

triebel lot garden

Built by Dr. Samuel Benjamin Vierling, this house contains a medical exhibit, apothecary shop and showcases daily life in the early 19th century.

Inspired by the design of the 1759 Upland Garden in Bethabara, the garden on the Triebel lot illustrates square garden beds planted with diagonal rows of vegetables and herbs.

vierling barn, reconstructed

fruit orchard

This reconstructed barn contains restrooms and is used for special programming.

salt street family gardens levering garden

Stone retaining walls separate terraces in this re-created ca. 1820 garden where an arbor supports native grapes and a garden square is planted with heirloom vegetables and flowers.

leinbach garden

Shoemaker John Henry Leinbach cultivated his garden and also kept bees, a milk cow and sometimes a pig.

His journal (1830-43) provides detailed information about garden activity.

cape fear bank garden

The cultivation of flowers here provides an example of the mid-19th century transition in Salem’s gardens from mostly food production to an increased emphasis on ornamentals. po i nts o f i nt e r e st

These points of interest are included as a courtesy to identify entities that are also in the Old Salem Historic District. These locations are not owned or operated by Old Salem Museums & Gardens.

god’s acre, 1770

This Moravian burial ground was organized in large squares devoted to “choir” groups within the church congregation. Today, the graveyard is reserved by local Moravian churches, where members continue to be buried by gender rather than family unit.

home moravian church, 1800

This structure was originally built in 1803 to house a meat market, the town fire engine and fire-fighting equipment.

The central town square was used for a number of public functions, and the Moravians surrounded it with the church and various other institutional buildings.

This is the oldest standing African American church in North Carolina. Expanded in 1890 and renamed St. Philips in 1914, the site contains the restored sanctuary and an exhibit on the history of the church and the African American congregation.

old salem visitor center frank l. horton museum center moravian book & gift shop a. butner hat shop old salem candy shop & marketplace t. bagge merchant & garden shop, 1775

blum house, 1815/1854

square, 1768

st. philips heritage center, 1775-1952 st. philips african moravian church, 1861

s h o ppi n g & d i n i n g

The variety of heirloom fruit trees featured in the orchard demonstrate the constant cultivation of apples, cherries, peaches, crabapples and pears throughout Salem.

Home Moravian Church continues to house an active Moravian congregation. Church members give tours and answer questions at scheduled times, posted on the front door.

coffee pot, 1858

The Mickey brothers created the giant tin coffee pot now located at the northern end of the Old Salem historic district as an advertisement and shop sign for their 19th century tinsmith business.

salem academy and college (single sisters’ house, 1786)

Though not on the Old Salem tour, the Academy and College represent one of the oldest educational institutions for women in the U.S. The College also uses the former Single Sisters’ House (1786), facing the Square diagonally across from Single Brothers’ House. The Single Sister’s House features an exhibit on the history of the building and the college.

heritage bridge, constructed 1999

This bridge forms a gateway from the Old Salem Visitor Center to the Old Salem Historic District. This heavy timber frame bridge was designed by noted preservation engineer David A. Fischetti to mimic historic bridges from the 19th century.

oldsalem.org · 336-721-7350