Walk thru historic OLD SALEM, North Carolina 

Great video love the history and information about the houses and ppl who lived in them

Hey Chris, great video as usual. My first professional history jobs were at Old Salem in the late '80s early '90s (costumed interpeter then assistant curator). So to add to the video... Folks can look up the history of Moravians online, but I can tell you visitors are often a bit confused because of the somewhat complex history of Salem. Moravians came to the colonies in the 18th century like other groups seeking religious freedom. The main language was German, though members came from several parts of Europe. They first settled in PA, and then some came down the Great Wagon Rd and bought a large tract of land in western Piedmont NC they named Wachovia. Salem was the largest town established, 1766. It was a church owned town, and a regional trade center as many of the Moravians were skilled craftsmen. They traded with the English settlers in the area, and prospered. Visitors often asked if they were Amish, Mennonite or Quaker. The answer is no, but there are some general similarities. It was early on a communal society, and boys and girls at an early age left the parents house and lived at the Boys School and the Girls School; later as single teenagers and adults lived at the Single Brothers and Single Sisters Houses until married. The community increasingly assimilated and became more "English" by the 1820s, though the church remained strong (still active today). But the communal lifestyle died out. You said the architecture was "hard to nail" stylistically and you are right. Reason is that the early buildings are very Germanic, but started to mix with English styles until the Germanic elements were mostly gone by the 1820s. Early Germanic elements include the half-timbering, decorative brickwork, and the curved "hoods" over doors. The "pink" stone is stucco over brick, painted to look like cut stone. All the houses you see with two doors represent a family home with attached shop of some type. You see some of this in Williamsburg. The restoration of Old Salem, which began in 1950, was very much influenced by Rockefeller's restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. However, unlike Williamsburg which remained a sleepy small town until restored, by 1950 historic Salem was surrounded by the modern city of Winston-Salem. So there have been unique challenges to the restoration, and there are buildings interspersed as you saw up to the 1890s.

Winkler's Sugar Cake is top notch!

This town is the sister to the boarding school I attended in Lititz Pa. Linden Hall School for Girls is the oldest boarding school in America 1746..best place ever. This was the original experiment and it did very well. The second school opened in ol Winston Salem. Funny thing is I visited years ago, and recognized the piano, just as the tour Lady said this piano comes from Linden Hall..We just stumbled upon the town. I was clueless.. amazing.

i was born in winston on sunnyside ave not to far from old salem.. the house is still there. it looked old from my parent's b&W photos and it looks old now. i always remember old salem as a sunny crisp winter's day. much like the video shows. thanks.

Love following your tours thanks.

I went to School of the Arts in high school in 75. We used to walk up there at night and walk all around. There are some cool crypts there in the grave yard. They have a room full of a huge pipe organ at the Governor’s School at Salem College. It was amazing to hear it being played.

My PA German ancestors were not Moravians, but they joined one of their wagon trains to Salem NC, where the land was much better. The exodus was also at the time of the French and Indian War, so the PA frontier may have got a little too hot for them.

They have free admission for veterans by the way. Always pays to ask if they have a military discount.

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Thanks for showing us this place. However I’m trying to figure out what justifies that 37 dollar ticket price! It’s a little pricey for a place that barely has anything but old historic buildings and such.

Beautiful preservation of the buildings. Thank you

Tammy and I are sitting here enjoying this very much! We’re planning on visiting sometime soon-probably staying in that B&B you pointed out. My Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry goes through that place..might try to find some Elrod graves in that cemetery

It feels like your videos are very rushed

i bet its haunted

Great video thanks !

Cool

Cool. Winston-Salem (modern part) is also nice

Thanks for the great content👍

Chris - I love you videos. Thank you for saving me the $37 price of admission! Yes, the Old Salem Mercantile is a gift shop - t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc. I think I spotted a VA Travels t-shirt hanging on one of the racks! Even if you're not sure what's inside, go in, for you never know who you will meet or what they might tell you. I was on a tour one time at Cliveden in Philadelphia. It was just me and the tour guide. In the one room, I asked him what was behind a particular door. He said he didn't know as he had never opened that door since it was not on the tour. However, today, he was going to find out. He invited me behind the ropes, and we opened the door. There were a bunch of signatures on the walls. This was a closet under the stairwell. He also invited me to come over closer to the windows to see where some of the former residents had etched their names into the glass (also something that is not part of the tour.) I was in Natchez, Mississippi for the Spring Pilgrimage about 20 years ago. I enjoyed seeing many of the plantations in that area that I had toured, also including the River Road Plantations. Your videos give us an introduction to the historical places that you visit, and invites us to do additional exploration on our own, whether online or in person. I summer in Upstate NY, just south of Cooperstown. I think you would enjoy a visit to Cooperstown as well as The Catskills region. Lansing Manor in North Blenheim, NY is a wonderful home to visit and would make a great video. The Hanford Mills Museum in East Meredith, NY is also a great place to visit. It's either the oldest or second-oldest still-operating water powered sawmill in the USA. Our summer cottage is adjacent to the museum. Stop by and we'll make you a burger on the grill!

Thank you for the tour! You definitely got your steps in on this one!

Thanks!

Man you are out zapping me

Thanx mate. Good job.

so yeah, so yeah, yeah yeah, so yeah so yeah, so yeah so yeah, so yeah, so yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah, so yeah lol The sugar cookies and breads are FANTASTIC!!! Dude, you can freeze the bread. lol