Page 4, Salemite, August 31,1979
Miksch Tobacco Shop
A History Lesson:
Old Salem
SALEM was founded
in 1766 by the
Moravians--devout
Germanic people who
traced their faith to the
15th century Bohemian
martyr, John Hus. After
Hus was burned at the
stake, some of his
followers formed the
Unitas Fratrum (Unity
of Brethren) in 1457-
making it one of the
earliest Protestant
groups. During the next
300 years, there were
periods in which the
Unity flourished across
Bohemia, Moravia and
Poland. Religious
persection eventually
forced the Brethren into
hiding, however. Yet the
“hidden seed" of the
faith was secretly kept
alive. In the early 1700s
a few escaped from
Moravia (hence the
popular name
“Moravian”) and found
refuge on the estate of a
Saxon nobleman,
Nicholas Lewis, Count
of Zinzendorf. There the
Unity was reborn, and
there in their new town,
Herrnhut, many of the
Moravian traditions
known today had their
beginning.
Within a few years,
the Moravians began to
send missionaries to the
New World. The first
settlement was in
Georgia, but this was
soon abandoned for
colonies in Penn
sylvania, where
Bethlehem became the
central town. In the
early 1750s, Lord
Granville of England
sold to the Brethren a
98,985-acre tract in the
piedmont of North
Carolina. They named it
“Wachovia.” The first
settlers arrived from
Pennsylvania on
November 17, 1753, and
took refuge in an
abandoned log cabin.
The next day they began
to build a town, which
they named
“Bethabara,” meaning
“House of Passage,” for
they knew that a per
manent town site would
be chosen later. They
were soon joined by
other Moravians from
Pennsylvania and
Europe. By 1756
Bethabara had become
known as a thriving,
hospitable community.
Even the Indians looked
upon it as a place
“where there are good
people and much
bread.”
On January 6, 1766,
the first tree was felled
for the central town-to
be called “Salem,”
meaning “Peace.”
During the next six
years, the Moravians
remained at Bethabara
while they built the new
town. In 1772 the
essential buildings were
complete, and most of
the industries and
residents of Bethabara
moved to Salem.
Unlike many early
American towns, Salem
was a planned com
munity. Also, it was
operated as a
congregation town in
which the economic as
well as the spiritual
affairs of all residents
were directed by the
church. The
congregation was
divided into “choirs"
according to age, sex
and marital status.
Skilled work, frequent
worship services and
much music, both
sacred and secular,
made up the daily lives
of these early
Moravians, and Salem
soon became known as
an industrial and
educational center.
As the area
surrounding Salem
became more
populated, the closely-
knit life of frontier days
became less necessary.
In the mid-19th century,
Salem ceased to func
tion as a congregation
town. A new town-the
county seat, Winston-
grew up just north of
Salem, and most of the
activity shifted there.
The Moravians who had
built Salem, however,
were master craftsmen
whose work was not
only skillful but also
made to last. Con
sequently, many of the
buildings in the original
town were still standing
at the close of World
War II. Time and
neglect, though, had left
their mark on the entire
area. In 1947 a grocery
store announced plans
to put a supermarket in
the heart of historic
Salem. This aroused the
citizens of Winston-
Salem into action. By
1950 a non-profit cor
poration, Old Salem,
Incorporated, had been
organized to preserve
and restore this historic
area. The result has
been the re-creation of
the atmosphere as well
as the appearance of the
early Moravian
congregation town.
Single Brothers House
A. SINGLE BROTHERS HOUSE, 1769 with 1786 addition
B. MIKSCH TOBACCO SHOP, 1771 with additions to 1785
C. WINKLER BAKERY, 1800 with additions to
D. BOYS SCHOOL (Wachovia Museum), 1794
e ^
» ..
Go(J 4
A c r
1
0.0
'oQ'Bl
39 37
n 0iHHd
I I so 51 52 53
v^l I Exhibit Buildings Open to the Public
Unrestored Old Buildings
.□ Sites of Old Buildings
Restored Old Buildings
I * I Reconstructed Buildings
g Gardens Open to the Public
courtesy of Old Salem,
Inc.
9.
10.
11.
Numbers used on this map represent a Salem
lot identification system datinfi bach to 1819.
The date in brackets is the date that construc
tion of each building was completed. The date
in front of each restored or reconstructed struc
ture is the date to which the building has been
restored or reconstructed, including all altera
tions and additions made up to that time.
7. Vierling House [1802] and Wash
House [1831]
1823 Steiner House [1823]
Bishop’s House [1841]
Site of House for Retired Ministers
[1816]
Home Moravian Church [1800]*
Site of Gemeinhaus [1771]
(Main Hall, Salem College)
1837 Girls Boarding School [1^5] and
Wash House [c.l817]
(Alumnae House, Salem College)
15. 1819 Single Sisters House [1786 with
1819 addition]
Site of Tycho Nissen House
[1782]
1849 Philip Reich House [1824] and
1832 Shop [1832]
(Tinsmith and Pewterer)
1845 Jacob Siewers House [1845],
Bam and Site of Shop [1821]
(Cabinetmaker)
12.
13.
14.
15a.
20.
1824 Traugott Leinbach House [1824]
and Wash House
Augustus Zes’ely House [1844]
Site of Edmund Blum Shop [1781
building moved to site in 1842]
(Coppersmith)
Ebert-Reich House [1793] and
Site of Reich Shop [1815]
(Tinsmith)
1844 Joshua Boner House [1844]
Site of Transou House [1788]
1821 Bagge House [1787]
Site of Shober House [1795]
c.1850 Inspector’s House [1810 with 1838
and c.1850 additions]
(Salem College .administration'
and Site of Boys School House
keeper’s House [1811]
32. 1829 Butner House [1829] and 1825
Shop [1825]
(Hatter)
Herbst House [1821] and Site of
Shop [1829]
(Saddler)
Vorsteber’s House [1797]
(Moravian Church .Archives,
Southern Province i
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
42.
45.
46.
47.
33*.
34.
48.
49.
.50.
51.
53.
I80i
1768
1767
1766
21.
35
.36.
Belo House [1849-1860]
(Presently apartments for
1847