A Fine History Lesson in Old Salem

Built in 1819 on the land he leased from the Moravian Church, John Vogel built this beautiful two-story Federal-style house for his family. Vogel was one of the most successful merchants in Salem. The house illustrates the many comforts that many Moravians enjoyed in the 19th century.

Born in 1783 near Salem in Frieldland, Vogel was trained as a gunsmith by a relative and later taught himself to be a silversmith. He came to Salem in 1809 and resided in the Single Brothers house. He asked permission in 1814 to marry the then Single Sister Christina Spach, but it would take another 4 years before the church gave their permission. Finally, on March 7, 1819 he and Christina married.

The house boasts a wide central hall with four spacious rooms on each floor. The rooms are beautifully furnished, as they would have been at the time. About half of the furniture that you see in the house belongs to the Vogel family. You can also see the craftsmanship of other local artists, such as Ludwig Eberhardt (who made the mantel clocks), Karsten Petersen (cabinet-maker), and Daniel Welfare (an artist who painted their portraits). The house also has wallpaper in the bedroom that showed that the family was a little better off than others in the community, since this was expensive at the time. Karen and I were also impressed with the very beautiful ceramic heaters. They were very rare in the houses, and only about five can be found in Salem.

There are costumed docents to give you a history of the house, but you may tour on your own. Downstairs, Karen and I enjoyed one room, which boasted some beautiful handicrafts. There were displays of ribbon work. It turned out to be modern-day ribbon work and the docents only had to go as far as Michaels to find their crafts. But this is much simpler to what Mrs. Vogel and her daughters would have done while Mr. Vogel was hard at work. Karen and I got a kick out of trying on the bonnets we saw lying around.

The rooms here are beautifully decorated, with the large canopy beds that I just loved. When you first walk in, you will see one room that served as John Vogler's shop. You may take your time touring the rooms. One room offers a wonderful view into the gardens and the Anna Catherine House. When John purchased the land, it had a small house built in 1771 by surveyor Christian Gottlieb Reuter for his wife Anne Catherine. This is where John and Christina lived while their house was being built. The Anne Catherine house is not open to the public. The Vogel house is open from 9am to 5:30pm. You must have an Old Salem pass to tour the house. Photography is permitted with the flash off.

You might remember in my other journal of Old Salem that I told you there was the Tavern building and what is now the Old Salem Tavern, which is an exquisite restaurant. Well, this is the history of the Tavern building, which sits next door to the restaurant.

The Salem Tavern, which was built in 1771, was one of the first buildings constructed in the new territory. The first tavern owners were Jacob and Dorthea Meyer, who ran the business from 1772 until 1780. Of all this buildings in Salem, this was the one most dependent on slave labor. They had a number of slaves here who helped keep the tavern running smooth. It was one of the first buildings restored during the 1950s.

It was built on the southern outskirts of the town because the town elders sought to protect their congregation from outside influences brought by those visiting the tavern. The tavern was one of the most successful businesses in town, and the steady flow of visitors brought a steady income to the church. The Salem Tavern would become know throughout the area and the southeast for its hospitality and service.

The Moravians often referred to those traveling though as Strangers and the townspeople were not permitted to mix with the Strangers unless they had business with them. The church was afraid of the influence they might bring upon their congregation. Now, more influential Strangers would be able to engage in a nice meal and perhaps a beverage afterwards. They would dine in the Gentleman Room, which was more intimate. They could rent a room upstairs during their stay. One of the most well-known guests was George Washington, who visited in 1791. Those who didn’t quite have the moolah to spend could enjoy an ordinary meal served several times throughout the day and could get a room in the boarding house next door (now the Old Salem Tavern Restaurant). Most guests tended to be those on business or family whose daughters were at the Salem Girls School. During the Revolution, the tavern was busy housing and feeding soldiers.

Today, you can visit the rooms and the basement. Costume docents are on hand to answer any questions you may have. The rooms have been painstakingly restored to the way they would have appeared when good ole’ George stayed. You might be lucky enough to catch an open-hearth cooking demonstration. A warning, though: the smells here are heavenly, so I would visit close to or after you have eaten. Or else you might loose all resolve and duck into one of the gift shops to nibble on some Moravian cookies. You can tour the building on your own. You do need an Old Salem ticket to come inside. The house is open from 9am to 5:30pm. Photography without a flash is permitted. You may turn the flash on in the basement. For more information, you can go to www.oldsalem.org.

The Single Brothers House was first built in 1769. The original plan was to have the two-story, multi-room house that you see today. But it was not until 1786, when the northern section was added, that it was as designer Frederic Williams had envisioned it. The building was used as housing for the single men of the community. It was restored to its original beauty in 1961.

Now, back in the day, single Moravian men and women could not have their own bachelor and bachelorette pads. They couldn’t even have their own place with a roommate. Nope, young single men and women either lived with their parents until they married or resided in the Single Brothers and Single Sisters houses. Local young men often moved into the house in order to learn a trade or single men moved into the residence to learn a viable trade. Once they learned a trade and could prove they could provide a home for wife, then they were permitted to marry. But it was the church that made that decision!

Now, when you first walk in, you will be directed to your left. This part of the building was known as the SAAL or meeting room. This is where the men gathered at the end of the day to read their Bibles and for worship service. This also served as the social room and was used for meetings. Inside, you will find simple benches, a beautiful ceramic heater, and an original 1798 Tanenberg organ. David Tanenberg was a Moravian and the first American-trained organ builder. Restoration began on it in the 1960s and will be completed in 2006. It can still be played, and if you’re lucky, you can hear one of the docents playing this remarkable organ.

You are permitted to tour the bottom floor. Most of what you find here are the rooms where the young men worked. These trades enabled the house to run a small empire, which produced income for the church and products for the residents. Here you can tour the kitchen, dye shop, weaver’s room, tailor’s shop, joiner’s shop, pewter shop, and potter’s shop. While we were here, we were able to see demonstrations by the weaver, tinsmith, and the joiner’s shop. You will notice that the craftsmen do use actual tools from the time. There are no power tools or fancy sewing machines. Everything is lovingly done by hand here. The docent/craft person will tell you what they are doing and give you some history of what they would have used at the time. They are also more than glad to answer any question you might have.

You do have to have the Old Salem ticket to tour. The house is open from 9am to 5:30pm. They do have what was originally the woodshop in the back, but it is not open to the public.

While some people might find it a bit odd to stroll around a cemetery, it seems that others quite enjoy it. Just look at any historic city and you will find lots of people traversing headstones and markers. In many cities, they even offer tours of their cemeteries, and some are legendary, such as Lafayette in New Orleans. I mean, hey, it is peaceful out here. And God’s Acre is no exception.

In April 1766, the Moravians chose the graceful hillside site for their burial grounds and named it Gottes Acker, or God’s Acre. In 1771, the site was cleared and surrounded by a fence. In June of that year, they held their first burial when they buried Brother John Brikhead. His grave can be found in the center of the old section and marked with an additional smaller stone stating "first grave."

Today, more than 10 acres have been devoted to the cemetery. The oldest graves are found in the back toward the center of the cemetery. When you first walk in, you can’t help but be impressed by the straight rows of single white makers. The graves when you first come in seem to date from the 1800 to 1900s. Members are not buried as families, but instead divided by their gender and material status. Their status is also known as choirs. Men, women, and children have separate areas of the cemetery. And as you might expect, married men are found first. Even today Moravians are still buried according to the practice.

On up towards the north side of the cemetery you can find the graves of Strangers who died while in Salem, as well as two different graves of African-American slaves. You will also find a private cemetery for those wishing to be buried as a family. Here members may have as fancy of grave stones as they wish. God’s Acre is reserved today for members of the 13 Moravian churches belonging to the Salem Congregation.

In 1772, the first sunrise Easter service was held in God’s Acre. The sunrise service is still held every Easter, attracting thousands of visitors from all over and from many different religions. After the Easter liturgy is read, the congregation moves in quiet procession while Moravian bands scatter throughout Old Salem and begin to play.

The cemetery is open from dusk to dawn every day and is a beautiful and peaceful place to walk around in. When you first walk in, you get a reminder of the modern-day Winston-Salem that lies just ahead, as you can see one of the modern-day skyscrapers looming in the southern sky. This is still a cemetery, so please be respectful. The cemetery is open to the public, and you do not need a ticket for entrance. Be warned: legend has it that not all the souls who were buried here are resting peaceful. The cemetery is said to be quite haunted!

Timothy Vogler was born in 1806 and was one of seven children of Christoph and Anna Vogler. In 1819, he went to apprentice with his cousin John Vogler (owners of the Vogler house). Christoph died in 1827 and the business was taken over by another son, Nathaniel. Timothy, at the time, was in Georgia to practice his trade as journeyman gunsmith. By the spring of 1831, he returned home to take over his father’s business.

Timothy’s reputation as a master gunsmith grew far beyond the borders of his village. As late as 1872, the then 72-year-old was still using his masterful skills as a gunsmith. L.Y. and E.T. Blum said of Vogler in their 1878 book A Guide Book of NW North Carolina, "the Vogler rifle is well know and highly appreciated by mountain hunters, and those guns have to this day never been surpassed for excellence." William Dettmer served as Timothy’s apprentice and took over after Vogler's death in 1896 at the age of 89.

The building was first built in 1831 and restored in 1960 and again as recently as 2001. The gun shop is one of the earliest and best documented remaining in the US. The shop was a prime example of the importance of trade shops to the community. The structure was built with two rooms, as proposed by plans of the church. At the time, this would have been considered a remote location, as such businesses were kept farther out in town.

Today, you can see master craftsmen working on guns just as they would at the time Vogler would have worked on them, using tools similar to what he would have worked with. Some of the original guns can be seen in the MESDA museum. The costumed interpreters will show you first-hand what it took to make a gun of such craftsmanship. The gun shop even today is a thriving business. This gun shop is still enjoying a well-deserved reputation for their craftsmanship. Their guns are made and used for historical villages and museums. Some of their guns have made their way as props in movies and the theater. According to the young man working when we were there, some of their guns were used in the Mel Gibson movie The Patriot, which was shot in nearby cities. Some of the guns are even sought after by actors for historical battle reenactments. If you go around to the side, you can also watch a blacksmith hard at work. At the time Vogler was here, he would have mostly like had a blacksmith working with him.

The shop is open from 9am to 5:30pm. Admission is required to get inside the building. You can take photos inside, and they will let you actually handle the guns they have inside. Even if guns aren’t your thing, it is worth checking out to see how much work went into the beautiful rifles.