Winston-Salem
| Winston-Salem | |||
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| Nickname : Twin City, Camel City, Tre-Four | |||
 Winston-Salem skyline |
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 seal |
 flag |
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| Location in North Carolina | |||
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| Basic data | |||
| Foundation : | 1766 | ||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | North Carolina | ||
| County : | Forsyth County | ||
| Coordinates : | 36 ° 6 ′ N , 80 ° 16 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 ) | ||
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Inhabitants : - Metropolitan Area : |
242,203 (as of 2016) 662,079 (as of 2016) |
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| Population density : | 706.1 inhabitants per km 2 | ||
| Area : | 346.3 km 2 (approx. 134 mi 2 ) of which 343 km 2 (approx. 132 mi 2 ) is land |
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| Height : | 278 m | ||
| Postal code : | 27104 | ||
| Area code : | +1 336 | ||
| FIPS : | 37-75000 | ||
| GNIS ID : | 997498 | ||
| Website : | www.cityofws.org | ||
| Mayor : | Allen Joines ( D ) | ||
Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County in the US state of North Carolina . The city is the fifth largest in the state and is located in the Piedmont Triad region .
history
Salem
Salem has its origins in January 1753, when Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg named the area around Muddy Creek the Wachau - in Latin modification "Wachovia" - in the name of the Moravian Brethren . The area was the equivalent of about 400 km² and was bought from John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville . The first settlers came to the area on November 17, 1753. Later the city was given the name Salem (for peace) following the wishes of the late Nikolaus Ludwig Graf von Zinzendorf . On January 6, 1766, construction began on Salem. Some of the original buildings from this settlement are still preserved today as the Old Salem Museum Village , located immediately south of the town center of Winston-Salem, and a popular tourist destination. In many of Old Salem's buildings, old handicrafts are faithfully demonstrated.
Winston
Winston was founded in 1849, named after the military and politician Joseph Winston , who was well known in the city of Salem. Winston became an industrial town and produced tobacco , furniture and textiles . In 1851 Winston became a county seat and plans arose to unite Winston and Salem.
Winston-Salem
In 1889 the Winston and Salem Post Offices were merged and the town was officially referred to as Winston-Salem . It was not until 1913 that the administrations of the two cities were merged.
Population development
| year | Residents¹ |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 201,399 |
| 2010 | 229,634 |
| 2016 | 242.203 |
¹ 2000–2010: census results; 2016: US Census Bureau estimate
economy
Winston-Salem is home to a number of major companies: RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company , Krispy Kreme Donuts , Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB&T), TW Garner Food Company , Hanesbrands and Lowes Foods Stores .
The city was shaped by the tobacco industry through the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company , which operated what was once the largest cigarette factory in the world in a depression immediately east of the city center. Many of the cigarette brands produced here achieved worldwide distribution. For a long time, "Camel" was the best-selling cigarette brand in the world. The factories in the city center, which once employed up to 15,000 people, were gradually evacuated from 1986 and production relocated to a new factory in Tobaccoville, northwest of Winston-Salem. Today, great efforts are being made to find new uses for the huge factory buildings that shape the cityscape.
In 1908, a financial institution called Wachovia was founded, which grew into one of the largest regional banks in the United States by the end of the 20th century. An expression of its importance was the 140 m high and 1995 completed Wachovia Center, the largest building in North Carolina outside of Charlotte (North Carolina) . In 2001 Wachovia was bought by the First Union Bank in Charlotte. Wachovia was chosen as the name of the new bank, which is now one of the largest in the world, because of its uniqueness. However, the company headquarters moved to Charlotte.
Education and culture
Winston-Salem is located in the Winston-Salem / Forsyth County Schools school district. The abbreviated WS / FC Schools have 41 elementary schools, 17 primary schools and 15 high schools. Winston-Salem owns many universities, the Wake Forest University , Winston-Salem State University , North Carolina School of the Arts , Salem College (formerly including Moravian Female Academy ), Piedmont Baptist College and Winston-Salem Bible College .
The wealth of the Reynolds family of tobacco entrepreneurs also benefited the general public through the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. Large donations caused Wake Forest University to move from its place of origin near Durham, about 150 km further west, to Winston-Salem from 1946 onwards . The entrepreneurial family made part of their estate on the outskirts available for this purpose.
The Reynolds family and their descendants also collected art, creating a significant collection of paintings and sculptures. The works of art are presented in Reynolda House, the former country house of the entrepreneurial family.
There are also a large number of galleries and museums in the city center, which are mainly concentrated in the Downtown Arts District.
newspaper
The Winston-Salem Journal is a daily newspaper in Winston-Salem. The Winston-Salem Chronicle is a weekly newspaper for the African American community.
Personalities
sons and daughters of the town
- Francis Edwin Shober (1831-1896), politician
- Meredith P. Snyder (1858-1937), politician
- Madie Beatrice Hall Xuma (1894–1982), educator and anti-apartheid campaigner
- Howard Cosell (1918–1995), sports commentator and sports reporter
- Harold Nicholas (1921-2000), tap dancer
- Kenneth Utt (1921-1994), film producer
- Kathryn Grayson (1922-2010), actress and singer
- Boyd Lee Dunlop (1926-2013), jazz pianist
- Lowman Pauling (1926–1973), R&B guitarist, singer and songwriter
- Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004), composer and conductor
- Ray C. Osborne (1933-2011), politician
- Stephen L. Neal (born 1934), politician
- Walter E. Johnston (1936–2018), politician
- George Hamilton IV (1937-2014), country singer
- Darwin Joston (1937–1998), actor
- Carl Eller (born 1942), American football player
- Togo D. West, Jr. (1942-2018), politician
- Wess (1945–2009), Italian singer
- Pam Grier (born 1949), actress
- Tom Masland (1950–2005), journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner
- Steve Angel (* 1956), engineer and manager
- Jennifer Ehle (born 1969), actress
- 9th Wonder (* 1975), hip-hop producer
- Blake Russell (* 1975), long-distance runner
- Emily V. Gordon (* 1979), screenwriter and executive producer
- Peter Joseph (* 1979), film director
- Jill Wagner (* 1979), actress
- Josh Howard (born 1980), basketball player
- David Testo (* 1981), football player
- Wells Thompson (born 1983), football player
- Whit Holcomb-Faye (born 1984), basketball player
- Reyshawn Terry (born 1984), basketball player
- Ricky Hickman (born 1985), basketball player
- Camille Little (* 1985), basketball player
- Othello Hunter (born 1986), basketball player
- Julianna Guill (* 1987), actress
- Ben Smith (* 1988), ice hockey player
- BoB (* 1988), rapper and music producer
- Nathaniel Pierce (* 1990), cellist
- Kathleen Baker (born 1997), swimmer
Personalities related to the city
- Rosemary Harris (born 1927), British-American actress
- Gary Chapman (born 1938), Baptist pastor at Calvary Chapel, couples therapist and author of the Five Languages of Love
Town twinning
literature
- Michael Shirley: From Congregation Town to Industrial City: Culture and Social Change in a Southern Community. NYU Press, New York 1994, ISBN 9780814779774 .
