Stepping Back in Time at Old Salem

Everything at Old Salem was just wonderful. This is an incredible historical village, not a recreation. Everything here is lovingly tended, and the past has been well-preserved here. It offers the visitor a chance to step back in history and offers beauty and charm. Among the things we saw and did:

The Vogler House was built in 1819 for John Volger and his family. It has been restored to its original appearance and is open for tours.

You can peak in at the Timothy Vogler Gunsmith Shop built in 1831. Here you can see gunsmiths making authentic reproduction guns and hear about how guns would have been made at the time. Step around to the back and see a blacksmith equally as hard at work.

The Single Brothers House, built in 1769, once served as housing for single men in the community.

Built in 1784, the Tavern served the Moravian community as a place to gather as well as a place for visitors to stop for a spell.

Next door the Old Salem Tavern (c. 1816) still offers road weary visitors a place for temporary respite and a wonderful meal.

Stop in at the modern visitor’s center for some shopping. They also offer several films chronicling the history of the Moravians.

A stop at the Winkler Bakery will yield you some of the best home made breads and cookies you have ever tasted.

For some peace and tranquility, stop at God’s Acre . This cemetery, established in the 1700s, is divided up by gender and martial status, not family.

Make sure you walk to the end a check out the 15-foot Coffee Pot built in 1858 as advertisement for a tinsmith. Here you can also see the busy modern city of Winston-Salem offering you the juxposition of the two cities.

Quick Tips:

Stop in at the Visitors Center and watch the 15-minute film on the history of the Moravian community. Here you can also pick up visitors maps and information. They do offer a compressive guide book to Old Salem, and at only , it is a great investment.

Make sure you are here as soon after opening as possible. There is a lot to cover here and most things shut down by 5:30. Also purchase the all-inclusive ticket. This offers you admission to all the buildings open to the public and the museums. There is not an actual charge to just walk around Old Salem and view the buildings from the outside.

Check out their web site at www.oldsalem.org. Throughout the year, they offer a number of special events.

Also take the time to enjoy Winston-Salem. Winston-Salem is a mid sized Southern town offering big city advantages while still retaining its southern charm. One must stop is Krispy Kreme doughnuts. This is where these heavenly treats all started and the original store is still serving these babies up hot and crispy all day.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you are not from this area and are flying in, you will definitely need a car. Old Salem is located near down town Winston-Salem. The closest airport is Greensboro (GSO). Winston-Salem is equidistance from Raleigh/Durham (RDU) and Charlotte (CLT). Both are about 2 hours.You can pick up a rental car at the airport.

If you are driving is located off Highway 52. But it is not the easiest place to find. Karen and I found ourselves driving in circles and past familiar places more than once. We finally found one small sign directing us to the village. Otherwise we did not see any major signs offering us directions. But folks are friendly around here, so someone will be glad to get you going in the right direction.

There is plenty of parking once you get here and the parking is free. Make sure you park in their parking lot as most other places surrounding it either have meters or charge for parking.

As a birthday present to my friend Karen, I decided to treat her to lunch at the Old Salem Tavern, established in 1816 (I have a separate entry on the history of the tavern). The two-story restaurant offers six rooms that have been converted to dining rooms. They also have the most stupendous outdoor dining under an ivy trellis. Everything in here has been restored to its historical accuracy. The Moravians were simple people, and the furnishings reflect that. Tables here are simple wood tables, simple but beautiful. In our room, there were two larger tables that seated about eight, one that seated four, and two tables for two. They also had a beautiful fireplace that is used in the wintertime. The wait staff is dressed in authentic period costumes.

After ordering our drinks, our waiter brought a basket that contained freshly made soft rolls and pumpkin muffins. Both were to die for. The menu consists of rich and hearty foods, such as chicken pie, stews, bratwurst platter, and sandwiches. Dieters and vegetarians will enjoy the array of salads and quiche offered.

I started with a house salad, which had an incredible homemade oregano vinaigrette on it. I went with one of the daily specials, which was a chicken salad plate. The plate included a huge serving of chicken salad and fruit. The chicken salad was just incredible and had grapes, walnuts, and celery. Just too good. Karen went with a spinach quiche, which included a garden salad and the same vinaigrette I had. I tried a bit of hers, and it was suburb.

Their dessert menu includes such items such as pie, cake, ice cream, and gingerbread. If it is your birthday, you get your choice of a free dessert. So, since it was Karen’s birthday, she ordered the gingerbread with lemon ice cream and we split it. The lemon ice cream was just decedent. It had a sharp aftertaste, but it was just incredible.

Everything here is made from scratch, and the quality of the food reflects that fact. They are open only for lunch and dinner. Lunch hours are 11am to 2:30pm, and dinner is from 5 to 9pm. Since this is a public building, you do not have to have a ticket to get in. They do offer a children’s menu. They do automatically add 15% for gratuity. They accept most major credit cards. While Old Salem’s closed on Mondays, the tavern remains open. Reservations are highly recommended. You can call 336/748-8585 to make yours.

Old Salem allows its visitors to step back in time to around the 18th century, when the Moravian community first settled here. Here you will find incredible buildings that date back from the 1700 to 1800s. These buildings are authentic, not recreations. Most of the buildings have been painstakingly restored to the accuracy of the time. The Moravians were simple people, and the buildings here reflect that simplicity that still remains incredibly beautiful.

Here you can tour such buildings as the Single Brothers house (c. 1769), The Vogler House (1819), The Tavern (1784), The Boys School (1794), and the Miksch House (1771). You can dine at the historic Old Salem Tavern (1816). At the Winkler Bakery (1800), you will find some of the best homemade breads and cookies you have ever tasted. Around the back on the second floor, you can stop in at the Salem Soda shop for a refreshing beverage, ice cream, or sandwich. Take time out to enjoy the displays at The Old Salem Toy Museum, The Museum of Early Southern Decorate Arts (MESDA), and the Old Salem Children’s Museum.

You can also see crafts people, such as a gunsmith and blacksmith, hard at work. These talented people are using tools that you would find at the time of the early inhabitants. These crafts people are more than glad to take the time to explain to you what they are doing and answer any questions you have. In each of the buildings, you will find costume docents who will be glad to give you a history of the building and answer any questions you have. But you are typically allowed to tour the rooms on your own. You will also find crafts people here too who are also informative and very knowledgeable of their ancient craft. In one building, we were surprised to find out what great lengths the tailor had gone to try to find material and patterns that would have been accurate for the time period.

There is no charge to actually walk through the village itself. There are people who still live here, and we found quite a few residents who used this tranquil place to walk their dog. There is admission to gain access to any of the buildings not open for public use. Your best get is to purchase the all-inclusive ticket, which allows you access to the buildings and museum. You will be asked to show your ticket in each building, so Karen and I just found it easier to attach it to our purse and camera bag. They offer AAA discounts. Hours are typically 9am to 5:30pm. They are open year-round. They are not open Mondays, except for a holiday Monday. They do offer a number of events throughout the year. Just go to www.oldsalem.org for more information.

In Old Salem, you will find two buildings known as the Tavern and The Old Salem Tavern Restaurant. Stay with me here, as it can get confusing. The Tavern is one of the historical buildings that you may tour if you have purchased a pass. The Tavern once served as a tavern offering a drink and a meal to the road-weary stranger visiting the town. The Old Salem Tavern has now been converted to a restaurant, and it serves both lunch and dinner. You do not have to by a ticket to Old Salem to get into the Tavern Restaurant. In another journal, I will have an entry on the Tavern building. But for this journal, I will give you the history of this magnificent building known as the Tavern Restaurant. Okay, I hope I haven’t confused the heck out of you yet! You may see my separate entry for dining here.

The building was built in 1816 and restored in 1968. This beautiful two-story, five-bay building with the front porch was originally used as boarding for the visitors (or some time known as strangers) who had dropped in for a meal next door at the Tavern. By 1832, a dining hall annex had been added to connect the boarding hall to the tavern. Sometime around 1838, a continuous two-story front porch was added to the tavern.

By 1897, they had the dinning hall annex removed. While undergoing renovations in the late 1960s, they decided to turn the former boarding house into a restaurant for the public who came to enjoy Old Salem. It was restored to its 1816 appearance and adapted for use as a restaurant.

Today, the tavern is a centerpiece for this historical village. This is where many road wary travelers come in search of a meal and relaxation, though today’s traveler comes in modern-day vehicles and a little less weary. Traditional fare is served for lunch and dinner here. A meal here is indeed a special occasion, and it is one opportunity that should not be passed up. I do have a separate entry on the fine meal my friend Karen and I had here. They are open every day, including Mondays. There is not an admission charge to gain entrance to the building.

Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg and his traveling companions set up a crude campsite in the NC wilderness on November 29, 1752. They were some 70 or 80 miles from the last settlement as written in Spangenberg’s journal.

The travelers were Moravians, or the Unity of Brethren as it had been know in Europe. The church was more than three centuries old when the church offered the group a chance to buy 100,000 acres in the Carolina colony. The church was impressed with the Moravian settlement in Bethlehem, PA, as well as other colonies.

In London, Parliament passed an act in 1749 to encouraged Moravians to "settle in His Majesties Colonies in America," promising that the settlers would be "indulged with full Liberties of Conscience and Exercise of the Religion they profess."

August was the Moravian Vicor of General America and was put in charge of choosing the land for the settlement. He was 48 years old and had served as a professor in Europe. He had already lead Moravians into Georgia and was a force to be reckoned with when it came to establishing Moravian communities.

The Moravians who established Salem brought their staunch religious faith and idealism to the rugged Carolina lands. They had a three-fold mission: to serve their neighbors in the surrounding community, to live up to their Moravian Christian ideals, and to preach the gospel to the natives.

The Moravians did own slaves. The slaves helped build and establish the community. Many of them joined the Moravian church. Since the original settlers came by way of Germany, many of the slaves learned to speak German. Salem became the center of the largest German-speaking black population in the early South. Not that it makes slavery acceptable, but slaves here lived with and worked right alongside whites.

Moravians here were much more sophisticated than other Moravians. They were better educated, more cultured, had an appreciation for the arts and fine crafts, and more advanced in scientific endeavors. They were better prepared for the daily challenges that life threw at them from medicine to the self-sufficiently of its people. The town grew into a large commercial center, trading with their Carolina neighbors and Virginia and Georgia. They also actively participated in state and colonial government. They also supported international missionaries.

Young single men and women lived in separate housing and learned a trade. They stayed on in the house until marriage. Despite their staunch religious believes, the Moravians did reshape their society and culture when needed. They also established the Salem Girls School for young women. Today the school is divided up into a school for young women and then the college. These two schools are amongst the oldest educational institutes in the county. They are also rated as amongst the best schools for women.

As other neighborhoods began to establish and spring up around the Moravians, they continued to practice and live as they always had. By 1849, Stokes County had been divided up and Salem was the logical choice for the county courthouse and seat. Fearing the trouble that strangers often brought, the Moravians sold 51 acres of land to the county for the site of a new town called Winston after Major Joseph Winston, a Revolutionary War hero. The Moravians chose to keep to them selves and preserve their peace and identity.

Salem faced a major dilemma during the Civil War. The NC lawmakers established a law that allowed those whose religion forbids the bearing of arms from military service. But many residents thought their men should serve as well. In January of 1831 the Salem Light Infantry was established. Young men were established into a special company with rules and regulation for their conduct.

The community continued to thrive for many years. But by the mid 1870’s Salem began to loose its thresh hold as a viable commercial industry. A young Richard Joshua Reynolds paid for a lot on Chestnut Street in Winston and begins his tobacco empire. By 1913, Winston and Salem were consolidated into one city. While Winston-Salem was thriving, the Moravian community languished. By the 1930s and '40s people in the community and in Winston-Salem began to grow concerned over the small religious village. Now anyone who borne witness to the '60s and '70s can tell you that some things should be forgotten, like bright orange shag carpet. But this era also began to produce a concern for our more historical communities. Many areas such as Charleston and Savannah owe a great debit to the restoration wave that began during this time. Towns and old historical buildings were preserved and restored so that they would once again would serve the greater good of their community. Old Salem was no different. Restoration and planning began to bring back to life this significant culture center to its once magnificent glory.

Now more than a half centaury later Old Salem once again serves as a thriving community center. Many of its houses are on the National Register. Old Salem was the first National Landmark district in NC. It is a national visitor attraction, attracting over half a million people to its doors every year. It continues to serve as a preservation community and it a respected research center for both Southern Culture and the Moravian history.

Now one thing Salem often gets confused with is another Salem several hundred miles away. Unlike Salem, MA, there were never any witches or anyone killed for such crime. In Salem, MA, more than a dozen people were murdered for the false crime of being witches. But Salem never had any witches, and their only connection, other than the name, is that both are beautiful historic communities that still continue to beguile visitors even hundreds of years later.

Today when you walk across the fairly new covered bridge into Salem, you step back in time. You can see and hear how these people lived their lives. You get a chance to see how the simple beauty of these people continues to command respect. It is a very family-friendly place, and it's a terrific place to show your child how people lived before our modern-day conveniences. It is also a great way to get them into a life long love of history. If you are in NC, take a trip out and experience this magnificent place for yourself. To start, go to www.oldsalem.org. Then come and see for yourself how those wild days of the '60s and '70s paid off beautifully in this restored historical village.