A Day In Winston-Salem: Part III - Old Salem: A Brief History

The village of Old Salem is a "living museum" of the colonial settlement, originally established in 1766 by the Moravians. Moravians are members of a Protestant Christian denomination first begun in the year 1457 in the Kingdoms of Bohemia and Moravia - which now geographically make up part of the Czech Republic. The first Moravians to come to the new world settled 500 miles north in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Later, a group of 15 male members headed south to a 100,000 acre tract of land the church purchased from Lord Granville, 1/8-owner of land in the pre-colonial Carolina province, and called it Wachovia.

They first created a temporary settlement on that land in 1753, and called it Bethabara. They lived in an abandoned cabin until they were able to locate a proper area for the permanent settlement of their central village which was to be Salem, established in 1766.

The Moravians were noted for their advanced agricultural practices, but ultimately focused on skilled trades, rather than farming, to support their town. Today, the town's preserved and reconstructed buildings, staffed by living history interpreters, present visitors with a view of Moravian life in the 18th and 19th centuries.1

span style="font-size:78%;">1 Historical notes from the book "North Carolina Architecture" by Catherine W. Bishir