As we walked down the shady streets of Old Salem, we were able to experience that feeling of going back in time. Old Salem has been preserved just as the town father's planned the original space. The recreation of the town was amazing. There are people who are dressed from that time period and act out how things would have been during their time. There is a bakery, where you can taste all of the wonderful cakes that are still cooked in the original brick oven. The original town was built to teach and provide an outlet for the crafts, skills, and manufacture of saleable products.
Old Salem is an authentic restoration, which begun in 1950, by the Moravian community that was started in 1766. The Moravians are a Protestant faith started in the 1400s in the province of Moravia, now part of the Czech Republic. After its formation in Bohemia, in 1457, the unity flourished throughout Bohemia and Moravia until the counter-reformation and the Thirty Years War destroyed all but a remnant of the church and forced its members into hiding.
Flag of Winston-Salem
English: The Gemeinhaus at Bethabara Historic Park...
English: Winkler Bakery at Old Salem, Winston Sale...The church was then revived in Saxony in the early 1700s. For both religious and political reasons, the Moravians soon began forming congregations in other countries. Moravians purchased 98,985 acres of land in North Carolina in 1753. One of the towns that the Moravians built was "Salem", which was founded in 1766. The town grew and prospered till the mid 1800's, at which time, the town of Salem sold land to the county seat of Winston. In 1913, these two towns merged to become Winston-Salem.
The town of Salem was intended for several purposes. First, it would be the seat of governance for all of the settlements. Secondly, it would be a center of trade and industry.