Restoration Proves Hard Undertaking
By Leigh Wood
After World War II, the area
was “in danger of being blighted
and partially destroyed.” There was
much traffic going through the mid
dle of Salem; and consequently, un-
desireable businesses were moving
in. Old buildings were not being
kept up, and the area was becoming
a slum. Therefore, in an attempt
to stop this deterioration of these
old historical buildings with their
distinctive architectural style on
March 29, 1949, the Wachovia His
torical Society appealed to the
Board of Aldermen for the preser
vation (not restoration) of Old
Salem. The Society wanted to get
zoning laws passed which would re- ■
st-'ict remodeling of existing build
ings and the building of new build
ings which were not in keeping with
the surrounding buildings. The So
ciety also made a plea for the con
servation of the remaining old build
ings and the preservation of them
as best as possible.
Then in December of that year,
Mayor Marshall C. Kurfees appoin
ted a temporary “Restoration In
vestigating Committee,” headed by
James A. Gray, Jr., to study ways
_to restore Old Salem; and in the
mean time, he asked the citizens of
the community not to make any
building changes in the Old Salem
area until final plans had been made
by the committee.
March 16, 1950, was set as the
date for a public meeting of Win
ston-Salem citizens to hear the re
port of the temporary committee.
Three hundred and fifty citizens at
tended this meeting and gave unani
mous approval of the committee’s
proposal to form a new permanent,
non-profit organization called Old
Salem, Inc. which would undertake
the restoration of Old Salem. A
board of trustees consisting of
twenty-five members was elected;
and it then adopted the following
recommendations proposed by the
Mayor’s temporary committee:
1) Old Salem, Inc. would take
immediate action toward res
toration and preservation of
Old Salem.
2) The estimated cost of the pro
ject would be two and one half
million dollars.
3) It would be a long-range pro
ject to be “financed over sev
eral generations.”
4) The main part of the project
would be finished by 1966, so
that there might be a 200th
anniversary celebration of the
founding of Salem.
5) The restoration would restore
the town to its appearance in
the early 1800’s.
The speaker at this public meet
ing was Andrew H. Hepburn, an
architect from Boston, who had
helped with the Williamsburg Res
toration. Hepburn, who had made
a preliminary survey of Old Salem,
told the citizens of Winston-Salem
at the meeting that they were lucky
in that there would be more to pre
serve and less to reconstruct than
in most old communities, (such as
Williamsburg). Of the twelve main
original buildings, ten were still
standing; and of the sixty-eight
original homes, over half were still
left. However, many buildings in
the area had been remodeled when
architectural styles had changed,
and other buildings, not of the Old
Salem style, had been built since
1830, filling in the Moravia:r vacant
lots which had once been used for
gardens and pastures. These non-
conforming structures would have
to be demolished or removed, and
alterations would have to be made
on the remodeled buildings.
Actual work began on the res
toration project in May of 1950,
when two restoration planners from,
the State College of Design, to
gether with Frank Horton, the
secretary of Old Salem, Inc., began
physical research of Old Salem, in
order to locate earlier foundations,
walls, fences, artifacts, and other
data which would make the restora
tion more authenic. The restora
tions were to be based on these
archeological studies along with
architectural studies and infor
mation from- Old Moravian draw
ings, engravings, pictures, and the
carefully kept, detailed early Mo
ravian records, diaries, notes, and
inventories.
There were other concerns be
sides these, however, such as finan
cial ones. Most of the organiza
tion’s revenue was to come from
voluntary donations from Winston-
Salem citizens and annual grants
from the State of North Carolina.
The Moravian Church and the Wa
chovia Historical Society also gave
as much as possible, but most of
their contributions were in the form
of donations of original Moravian
records, musical instruments, tools,
and other original artifacts and fur
nishings which helped to make the
restoration project more authentic.
Old Salem, Inc., was lucky in
being able to buy some of the his
toric sites and buildings, and others
such as the Tavern and the Wacho
via Museum were leased on a long
term basis for only one dollar a
year. The organization was also
lucky in being granted tax-exemp
tion privileges (since it is a non
profit organization).
In December of 1954 Old Salem,
Inc., asked the Board of Zoning Ad
justment for permission to have
small businesses in some of the re
stored buildings. Frank Horton ex
plained that it had been the inten
tion of Old Salem, Inc., to restore
buildings to their original uses as
well as their original appearances.
Since almost everyone in the early
Salem community ran some kind of
shop or trade in their home, if small
shops were allowed to operate in
Old Salem, it would make the res
toration resemble more nearly the
old village; and it would, of course,
be a tourist attraction with the
revenues from profits going toward
the Old Salem fund. The request
was granted; and consequently, the
Salem Community Store was re
stored and reopened to sell many
items in keeping with the restora
tion.
Of course, there were also other
milestones which had to be sur
passed. One was the building of a
reception center and parking lot
for the visitors who were attracted
to Old Salem. The Old Salem or
ganization also had to get special
permission from the city to put in
brick sidewalks, and then the old
cement ones had to be taken out
and replaced with old colonial brick
sidewalks. Another problem was
the numerous power and electrical
lines which had to be removed from
the square and parts of Main Street.
Today many buildings have been
restored and others remodeled to
resemble their appearance in 1830.
A few have been restored by in
dividuals, while the rest have been
restored by Old Salem, Inc. Forty-
one non-conforming buildings have
been destroyed or removed. The
result has been to return the air of
spaciousness which Salem once had
and to reestablish the former archi
tectural uniformity ot Salem. Un
like some restoration projects, the
restoration of Old Salem has be
come a “living museum”, “filled with
people and one that continues to
live according to ancient Moravian
tradition.” The restoration project
is not only of historical significance,
however, but it is also valuable as
an urban renewal program, (in spite
of the lack of federal funds).
The purposes of Old Salem, Inc.,
which were originally to stop fur
ther deterioration and building of
non-conforming buildings and to re
store only ten or twelve main build
ings, today have become much more
ambitious. The estimated cost and
completion date for the restoration
project set by Old Salem, Inc., when
it was chartered in 1950, have both
been extended many times over. It
is doubtful that the project will
even be completed in this life-time.
■ For example, the Germain Haus,
which once stood where Main Hall
presently stands, will undoubtedly
not be restored in the near future.
But restoration continues and more
and more Salem resembles the small
Moravian village it was in 1830.
Volume Llll
Salem College, Winston-Salem, N. C., Monday, March 6, 1972
Number 19
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ilOlUi
The following is the slate of
candidates for Student Govern
ment offices to be voted on March
14 and 16.
PRESfDSMT OF STUDENT
GOVERNMENT
1. Christina Spence
2. Cathy Gazes
3. Sarah Dorrier
SECRETARY OF STUDENT
GOVERNMENT
1. Mary Ann Campbell
2. Barbara Brothers
3. Elsie Fuller
4. Kathy Bacon
5. Dee Dee Anderson
CHAIRMAN OF HONOR COUNCIL
VICE-PEIES. OF STUDENT
SECRETARY OF INTERDORM
1. Sarah Tucker
2. Jeanie Hendrick
3. Paula Jeffords
4. Pam Poe
5. Cyndy Patterson
CLASS REPRESENTATIVES ON
HONOR COUNCIL
1.
Christina Spence
(Freshman)
2.
Sarah Dorrier
1.
Sarah Tucker
3.
Melinda Vick
2.
Paula Jeffords
4.
Lisa Herron
3.
Betty Blaine Perry
5.
Catherine Cooper
4.
Cyndy Patterson
5.
Nancy Cooper
6.
Ashby Powell
SECRETARY OF HONOR COUNCIL
(Sophomore)
1.
Barbara Brothers
1.
Averell Pharr
2.
Clark Kitchen
2.
Betsy Hester
3.
Elsie Fuller
3.
4.
Cindy Greever
Janet Ross
4.
Margaret Brinkley
5.
Nancy Adams
1.
(Junior)
Pierce McIntyre
2.
Scottie Newell
TREASURER OF STUDENT
3.
Sally Pinto
GOVERNMENT
PRESIDENT OF WYCA
1.
Allison Towne
T.
Chris Young
2.
Anna Moore Butzner
2.
Catherine Cooper
3.
Jeannie Dorsey
3.
Laura Ferguson
4.
Holly Materne
4.
Becky Eagles
PEIGS.'DENT OF IRS
GOVERNMENT
1.
Ann Wood
1.
Betsy Hester
2.
Allison Towne
2.
Margaret Binkley
3.
Jeannie Dorsey
3.
5.
Marcy Priester
Laura Turnage
4.
Janet Leonard
4.
Chris Moran
CHIEF MARSHAL
CHAIRMAN OF INTERDORM
1.
Marcy Priester
1.
Le Newell
2.
Winn Currie
2.
Mary Ann Campbell
3.
Le Newell
3.
Katherine Kirkpatrick
4.
Kathy Bacon
4.
Averell Pharr
5.
Janie Redfearn
5.
Peggy Bullard
6.
Peggy Spilman
PRESIDENT -OF PIERRETTES
1. Peggy Bullard
2. Chris Moran
3. Christi White
4. Julie Kidd
CHAIRMAN OF APRIL ARTS
1. Winn Currie
2. Ann Manley
3. Meredith Hardy
4. Chris Minter
FITS CHAIRMAN
1. Jeanie Hendrick
2. Pam Poe
3. Madeline Rankin
4. Betty Blaine Perry
IRC
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Beth Ogden
Anna Moore Butzner
Christi White
Brenda Griffin
Marianne DeHart
WRA
1. Lee Booth
2. Peggy dpilman
3. Emily Shearer