{"id":4833,"date":"2019-10-26T06:03:04","date_gmt":"2019-10-26T11:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/?page_id=4833"},"modified":"2019-10-26T06:14:37","modified_gmt":"2019-10-26T11:14:37","slug":"historic-old-salem-village-reveals-way-of-life-of-early-settlers-in-north-carolina","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/?page_id=4833","title":{"rendered":"Historic Old Salem village reveals way of life of early settlers in North Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Posted October 26, 2019 <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By ADAM SPECTOR<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WINSTON-SALEM,\nN.C.- One mile from downtown Winston-Salem, there’s a small 75 acre village\nthat looks like it’s been unchanged for the past 200 years, which stands in\nstark contrast to the rest of present-day Winston-Salem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bThe town consists of many colonial-style buildings made of wood, brick or both. You see people inside the buildings knitting, making pottery and sculpting the old-fashioned way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The pharmacy in Old Salem.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This\nsmall village is called Old Salem, which is a historic site that is a\nrestoration over 60 years in the making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert\nFitzgerald, a longtime resident in Winston-Salem, said Old Salem looks very\nmuch the same now as it did when he moved into the Winston-Salem in 1990.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Having\nlived in Winston-Salem for the past 28 years, I’ve seen a lot of changes in\nmost parts of town. The one place that hasn’t changed much is Old Salem,”\nFitzgerald said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Declared\na National Historic Landmark in 1966, Old Salem is one of Winston-Salem’s\nbetter-known landmarks, which has various exhibits and sites to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nhistoric district was originally settled by the Moravian community in 1753. Old\nSalem features a living history museum that interprets the restored Moravian\ncommunity. Many of the buildings that can be entered by the public have tours\nand or allow visitors to see how activities were done back in the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto the latest annual report, a total of 192,477 paying visitors attended in\n2015. While no specific numbers were given, attendance has raised 13.8 percent\nin 2019 compared to 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Old Salem Tavern<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some\nof the first walk-in buildings from the front-end of Old Salem are the two taverns.\nOne was renovated and made into the now popular restaurant, appropriately\ntitled “The Tavern in Old Salem.” The restaurant features dishes\ninspired by Moravian families from over 200 years ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Exquisite pot roast from the Tavern in Old Salem.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The\nTavern in Old Salem serves locally farmed food, craft and draft beers and house\nmade drinks in an upscale, but casual environment at very reasonable prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nbuilding which is now a restaurant was built in 1816, as an annex to the\nhistoric 1784 Tavern in Salem. However, the part that connected the two buildings\nwas removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nfirst tavern is now a walk-through exhibit, showcasing just how much different\nrestaurants and hotels have changed in over two centuries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto Franklin Vagnone, president and CEO of Old Salem, and research from\nUNC-Chapel Hill. George Washington actually stayed in the tavern during a tour\nof the southern states in the spring of 1791. However, it’s unknown which room\nhe used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There\nare lots more stories about George Washington sleeping somewhere, than just him\nsleeping somewhere. There are many layers of history that never get told,”\nVagnone said. “When you go back to the tavern, go into the bar, then you\nwill see that there were beds in the barn, which is most likely where the\nslaves slept. Documentation shows that Washington brought seven slaves with him\non this trip. So that’s a really interesting narrative that most people have\ntraditionally not been told.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Old Salem Relics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One\nof these unique shops that visitors get to see in Old Salem is the T. Bagge\nMerchant, which was originally the town’s community store. This shop now offers\nlocally-made pottery and other crafts, such as candles and toys, as well as\nbooks related to North Carolina’s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A small garden located next to the T. Bagge Merchant where herbs are grown and sold.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Nick\nTrusch, a student from Raleigh N.C., who has visited Old Salem a number of\ntimes, said he shops at T. Bagge Merchant every time he visits the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“While\nthe items are more expensive than something from Walmart or Target, many of the\nitems are handmade and that adds a personal touch to them,” explained\nTrusch. “Not only that, but many of the items can only be found at these\nstores. This validates the higher prices for the items in my opinion.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another\nunique shop at Old Salem is the Winkler Bakery. This bakery sells bread,\ncookies, and other baked goods. The twist here is that some of their baked\ngoods are still made in a wood-fired oven that’s over 200 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nbrick oven runs Tuesday through Saturday. Sugar cakes and bread are made on\nthese days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While\none might assume that baking in this old-fashioned method would be far more\ncomplicated than modern baking, an employee at Winkler Bakery said otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Much\nmore complicated? No, but it’s more time consuming, certainly more than a\nconventional oven,” explained an employee. “Because you have to get\nthis thing loaded, you have to fire it in the morning, you have to clean it\nout… and you have to wait until it cools down to a certain temperature before\nyou can put your bread and sugar cake in.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nWinkler Bakery and T. Bagge Merchant are just a few of the several places to\nshop in Old Salem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When\ndid this Restoration Start? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Vagnone mentioned that restoration began back in the late 1940s by the National Society of Colonial Dames in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Interior of the gunsmith\u2019s shop which is still used today.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis\narea used to be downtown. Tons of buildings back then had to be taken down in\nthis area because they didn’t work with the colonial buildings,\u201d Vagnone said. \u201c1950\nis when the real organizations started on the restoration of the buildings and\nit’s been continuous since then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While\nmost of the buildings in Old Salem are more than 200 years old and restored,\nsome of the buildings are reconstructions of the original buildings. All the\nreconstructions had pictures of the original place for reference. Buildings are\nreconstructed based on thorough archaeological investigations to identify and\nevaluate the specific features and relics that make these buildings look as\nclose to the originals as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You’ll\nsee there are signs with information saying whether or not it’s a\nreconstruction,” Vagnone said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living\nInside History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of\nthe many buildings that have been restored in Old Salem, the first to receive\nsuch treatment is the house that Vagnone currently lives in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\nwas actually something we negotiated in the contract,” explained Vagnone.\n“Primarily because I knew that I wanted to live in the district because I\nwould better understand changes that needed to happen and they agreed with me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When\nasked about what it’s like living in a house that is over 200-years-old,\nVagnone noted that the doorways are too small and he hits his head at least\nthree times a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Otherwise,\nthe house has been renovated. We have a kitchen, 2.5 baths, 3 floors, other\nthan the doors, it’s a completely normal experience,” explained Vagnone.\n“There’s electricity, there’s plumbing, we’ve got heating and\nair-conditioning. The house was restored in a way you can actually live in\nit.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\nIf You Go<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n