Old Salem
Old Salem is a living historical museum inside the restored town part of the Moravian settlement in Winston-Salem in the state North Carolina , United States is. The not-for-profit company called Old Salem, Inc. began operating in 1950.
Recognition as a National Historic Landmark and entry as a Historic District with the name Old Salem Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places took place in November 1966. Ownership of the buildings and land is shared between Old Salem, Inc. , Wachovia Historical Society , Salem College, and Moravian Church .
Historic Salem
Salem was originally in 1766 by members of the Moravian Church , the English Moravians , settled, members of a Protestant denomination that in 1457 from followers of Jan Hus (1369-1415) in Bohemia and Moravia (Engl. Moravia ) in what is now the Czech Republic came into being. From an earlier settlement in Bethlehem , Pennsylvania , the Moravians came to the province of Carolina and first established the temporary settlement in Bethabara (1753) and then in 1759 the first planned Moravian church in North Carolina called Bethania . The Moravians then planned Salem as the center of a 400 square kilometer area, whose name Wachovia was borrowed from the Wachau , and construction began in 1766. The residents concentrated more on trade and handicrafts than on agriculture.
The place united in 1913 with the neighboring Winston. Many of Salem's original historic buildings were still preserved when the non-profit organization Old Salem Inc. was formed in 1950 to protect the endangered buildings, restore the site and set up a museum.
Old Salem today
Today, interpreters of living history work in the historic and restored buildings, explaining and showing the visitor what life in Moravia was like in the 18th and 19th centuries. Among them are craftsmen, for example Zinnschmiede , blacksmiths , shoemakers , gunsmiths , bakers and carpenters . About 70% of the buildings in the historic district are actually original, which makes this living museum unique.
In recent years, historical and archaeological research has focused primarily on the historical Afro-American population, which mainly consisted of slaves who were ransomed by the Church and who were mostly converted . The fraternity taught the freed slaves in their community to read and write as well as some manual trades. Holistic studies aimed at understanding the ethnic and cultural identity of Salem's Afro-American people have provided significant insights into the historical development in Old Salem.
Three other museums are housed in a modern building in the district, including the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) in Old Salem. This is the only museum dedicated to researching and exhibiting early historical decorative arts of the south. In 24 rooms and six galleries it shows furniture, paintings, textiles, ceramics, silver and other metal goods from Maryland , Virginia , the Carolinas, Georgia , Kentucky and Tennessee up to around 1820. The Old Salem Toy Museum shows a wide range of old and rare Toys, most from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Old Salem Children's Museum is primarily aimed at children between the ages of 4 and 9.
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Sights of the village itself are, for example, the Salem Tavern , where George Washington spent two nights on May 31 and June 1, 1790 on his way through Carolina, the Single Brothers 'House , the Boys' School and the Winkler Bakery as well as various shops . Also noteworthy is the rebuilt church of St. Philips Moravian Church , which was built by the congregation in Salem for the liberated and free African-Americans in order to meet the requirement of a parish vote on racial segregation in worship and thus also the state law of North Carolina of 1816.
Within the historic district is the Salem College and Academy campus and auditorium, as well as the restored Single Sisters' House, the college's bookstore and the Gramley Library. Governor's School of North Carolina students spend the summer in the restored dormitories.
The Home Moravian Church , church hall of the Evangelical Brethren , which is not in the historic district, is open to visitors during the actual tourist season. The church also looks after the market square, Salem Square , where a number of events take place throughout the year, including a series of concerts in summer. "Easter City," a traditional Moravian sunrise service at Easter, attracts thousands of visitors.
The coffee pot
The community of Old Salem (and Winston-Salem as a whole) is often represented by a large pewter coffeepot originally created by the Moravier Julius Mickey in 1858 as an advertisement for his pewter shop . It is traditionally said to hold 740 gallons of coffee (about 2,800 liters). It was originally located at the intersection of Belews and Main Streets, where it marked the border between the two towns of Winston and Salem when the Moravians were still isolating themselves from their neighbors. After the two villages merged in 1913, it became a symbol of togetherness.
In 1920 the jug was hit by a car and pushed out of its place. For reasons of traffic safety and competition law, the city forced the jug to be removed from its place against violent resistance from the population. After a tough struggle, it was set up again at the same intersection, a little back from the road. In 1959 it had to give way to Interstate 40 , which runs through the intersection, and today it stands at the intersection of Main Street and Brookstown Avenue.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.oldsalem.org/about/old-salem-inc/
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↑ National Park Service: "National Historic Landmark summary listing: Old Salem Historic District " ( Memento of the original from June 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: North Carolina. National Park Service , accessed February 3, 2020. Old Salem Historic District on the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed February 3, 2020.
- ↑ http://www.mesda.org/
Coordinates: 36 ° 5 ′ 5 " N , 80 ° 14 ′ 31" W.