Moving - Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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I hope you enjoy reading this brief history of Winston-Salem, NC.

A Brief History of Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The Moravians first arrived in North Carolina in November 1753, tracing their faith tradition to an early Protestant group called the Unity of Brethren. For more information on the roots of the Moravian faith, click here.

When the Moravians first arrived in 1753 they worked on 98,985 acres of land they named it der Wachau (later called Wachovia). The land was named after the Austria ancestral estate of Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf. The group first built what was intended to be a temporary community, called Bethabara ("house of passage").

Bethabara grew and evolved into a permanent settlement. Since it was the church's intention to have a number of small settlements rather than a single large one, the town of Bethania to the northwest was established as a separate farming community.

The religious, German-speaking Moravians eventually built four other towns here, with Salem, founded in 1766, being the major commercial and religious center. In Salem, as elsewhere, the church governed every aspect of community life, both spiritual and economic. Both European and African American men and women led daily lives centered around work and worship.

The first buildings in Salem, starting in 1766, were half-timbered communal houses, simply enough referred to as the First through Fifth Houses. The only surviving original structure of these houses is the Fourth House.

In time (1769 and expanded in 1786), a larger Single Brothers House, a Gemein Haus and other structures grew around a central Square. A Tavern (first built of wood, but victim of a fire and replaced in 1784 by the current brick structure) was built on the outskirts of town, so that "strangers" (non-Moravians) could be kept at a distance. It proved very popular for travelers through this pre- and post-Colonial wilderness, in which Salem was truly a peaceful haven, as well as an excellent source of quality crafted goods.

Salem remained a church-governed town until the mid-1800s. The church sold some of its land just north of Salem in 1849 to create the new county seat, a town that was named Winston in 1851. In 1913, Salem merged with neighboring Winston to become Winston-Salem