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Winston-Salem
is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2000 census,
the city population was 185,776; in 2004 the city annexed an additional
17,483 raising the population to 223,000. It is the county seat and largest
city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem
is a prominent municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to
one of the tallest office buildings in the region, the Wachovia Center.
It is often referred to as the "Twin City" for its dual heritage,
although "Camel City" is another popular nickname, referring
to the city's prominent tobacco industry (after Camel cigarettes). Many
locals, however, use the shortened name "Winston" in informal
speech. "The Dash" is another nickname for Winston-Salem, referring
to the hyphen between Winston and Salem. Winston-Salem is the home of
Wake Forest University, a nationally distinguished private university.
The
Old Salem district and related Historic Bethabara site are the city's
oldest historical attractions. Also of historical interest is Reynolda
Village (which includes Reynolda Gardens and the Reynolda House Museum
of American Art). Other sites of interest include the Horne Creek Historic
Farm, Tanglewood Park, the SciWorks educational facility, and SECCA, the
Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art. The city's major sports and
entertainment venues are organized in a group known as the Winston-Salem
Entertainment-Sports Complex.
The
Winston-Salem metropolitan area (MSA) has an estimated population of 441,607
according to the 2004 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau. The combined
statistical area (CSA) of Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point has a July
1, 2005 population of 1,490,886. Source: US Bureau of the Census Released
April 2006
History
Salem
The origin of the town of Salem dates back to January 1753, when Bishop
August Gottlieb Spangenberg, on behalf of the Moravian Church, selected
a settlement site in the three forks of Muddy Creek. He called this area
"die Wachau" (Latin form: Wachovia) named after the Austrian
estate of Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, Wachovia Bank takes its
name from this area where it was founded. The land, just short of 99,000
acres (400 km²), was subsequently purchased from John Carteret, 2nd
Earl Granville.
On November 17, 1753, the first settlers arrived at what would later become
the town of Bethabara. This town, despite its rapid growth, was not designed
to be the primary settlement on the tract. Instead, the guidance of the
Lord was sought for selection of a new town by drawing lots among sites
which were suitable.
The
town established on the chosen site was given the name of Salem (for "peace")
chosen for it by the Moravian's late patron, Count Zinzendorf. On 6 January,
1766, the first tree was felled for the building of Salem. Salem was a
typical Moravian settlement congregation with the public buildings of
the congregation grouped around a central square, today Salem Square.
These included the Church, a Brethren's House and a Sisters' House for
the unmarried members of the Congregation, which owned all the property
in town. For many years only members of the Moravian Church were permitted
to live in the settlement. This practice had ended by the American Civil
War. Many of the original buildings in the settlement have been restored
or rebuilt and are now part of Old Salem. Salem Square and "God's
Acre", the Moravian Graveyard, are the site each Easter Morning of
the world famous Moravian Sunrise Service. This service, sponsored by
all the Moravian church parishes in the City, attracts thousands of worshippers
each year and has earned the name of "the Easter City" for Winston-Salem.
Winston
In 1849 the town of Winston was founded, named after a local hero of the
Revolutionary War, Joseph Winston, who was well-known in the town of Salem.
Shortly thereafter both Winston and Salem were incorporated into the newly
formed Forsyth County. It thrived as an industrial town, producing tobacco
products, furniture and textiles. In 1851 Winston was designated the county
seat, and, with plans to connect the cities of Winston and Salem, the
county courthouse square was placed just one mile north of Salem's square.
In 1889, the United States Post Office Department combined the mail offices
for the two towns, and the towns were officially joined as "Winston-Salem"
in 1913.
The
Reynolds family, namesake of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, played
a large role in the history and public life of Winston-Salem.
Notable early businesses
-R. J. Reynolds established the second-largest tobacco firm in the global
tobacco industry in Winston-Salem in 1874. Today, RJR is an indirect wholly
owned subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc., also headquartered in the
city.
-Wachovia Bank and Trust was formed in 1911 by the merger of Wachovia
National Bank (founded 1879) and Wachovia Loan and Trust (founded 1893).
The company is today located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
-The J.A. and C.E. Bennett Marble and Granite Works was established in
1885.
-In 1903, R. J. Reynolds advertised in the Winston Newspaper horse stud
service for $15.00.
-In 1906, the Bennett Bottling Company produced Bennett's Cola, a "Fine
Carbonic Drink." The name was later changed to Winston-Salem Bottling
Works in 1915.
-In 1929, teenager Thad Garner used $600 he had saved driving the high
school bus to buy a barbecue stand. Soonafter, the Garners began selling
a spicy barbecue sauce that Thad's mother was making in her kitchen. This
sauce became Texas Pete, one of the best-selling hot sauces in the Southeast
United States.
-In 1937 Krispy Kreme opened its first doughnut shop in Winston-Salem,
in a rented building on South Main Street. The shop sold directly to customers
in the historic district.
-In 1948 Piedmont Airlines was officially formed out of the old Camel
City Flying Service. The airline was based at Smith Reynolds Airport in
Winston-Salem but marked its first commercial flight out of Wilmington
on February 20,1948. On that morning Piedmont Airlines flight 41 departed
Wilmington, NC for Cincinnati, with stops in Southern Pines, Charlotte,
Asheville, Tri-Cities and Lexington. Piedmont would grow to become one
of the top airlines in the country. It was purchased by USAir (now USAirways)
in 1987 and the merger was complete in 1989. Piedmont's last flight was
in August of that year bringing an end to one of the greatest commercial
aviation successes in history. USAirways still maintains a reservations
center in the city (INTRO) housed in the old Piedmont Reservations office.
-In 1949 Matt Long opened Long Engineering Company in Winston-Salem (later
to become Long Communications Group), now named OneSource Building Technologies,
a leading Audio/Visual, Sound & Lighting services company.
-In 1953 James William Bell opened Bell Brothers Cafeteria in Winston-Salem,
and the location has remained the same for approximately 53 years. Now
the restaurant is called Bell and Sons cafeteria and is owned and operated
by James and his two sons Wayne and Randy.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 185,776 people, 76,247 households,
and 46,205 families residing in the city. The population density is 659.0/km²
(1,706.7/mi²). There are 82,593 housing units at an average density
of 293.0/km² (758.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 55.57%
White, 37.10% African American, 0.31% Native American, 1.13% Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 4.29% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races.
8.64% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There
are 76,247 households out of which 28.0% have children under the age of
18 living with them, 40.2% are married couples living together, 16.6%
have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.4% are non-families.
33.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.7% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size
is 2.32 and the average family size is 2.95.
In
the city the population is spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18,
11.7% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.7%
who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every
100 females there are 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over,
there are 84.2 males.
The
median income for a household in the city is $37,006, and the median income
for a family is $46,595. Males have a median income of $32,398 versus
$26,335 for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,468. 15.2%
of the population and 11.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out
of the total population, 22.0% of those under the age of 18 and 11.1%
of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
A
2006 cost of living survey (Mercer) ranked Winston-Salem as the least
expensive city in the U.S. or Europe, 124th worldwide - slightly over
half as expensive as living in Moscow.
Economy
Winston-Salem is the location of the corporate headquarters of the R.
J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc., Branch Banking
and Trust Company (BB&T), TW Garner Food Company (makers of Texas
Pete), HanesBrands, Inc., and Lowes Foods Stores, Inc. The Wachovia Corporation
was based in Winston-Salem until it merged with First Union Corporation
in September 2001; the corporate headquarters of the combined company
are now in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Although traditionally
associated with the textile, furniture, and tobacco industries, Winston-Salem
is attempting to attract new businesses in the nanotech, high-tech and
bio-tech fields. Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is the
largest employer in Winston-Salem. Blue Rhino, the nation's largest propane
exchange company and a division of Ferrellgas, is also headquartered in
Winston-Salem. In December 2004, the city landed a deal with Dell, Inc.
to build a computer assembly plant nearby in southeastern Forsyth County.
A portion of downtown Winston-Salem has been recently designated as the
Piedmont Triad Research Park for biomedical and information technology
research and development. Currently, the research park is undergoing an
expansion, with hopes of jumpstarting the city's economy.
Features and attractions
Museums
Museums are an important portion of Winston-Salem's heritage. Most famous
of Winston-Salem's museums is Old Salem, a living history museum centered
on the main Moravian settlement founded in 1766. Along with the original
eighteenth century buildings, Old Salem is also home to the Museum of
Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), a gallery of eighteenth and nineteenth
century furniture, ceramics, and textiles. The Reynolda House Museum of
American Art (built by the founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
and now owned by Wake Forest University) is another of Winston-Salem's
premiere museums. The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA)
is a local art museum worthy of interest. The Wake Forest University Museum
of Anthropology is an excellent anthropological museum, maintained by
Wake Forest University, that has many fascinating artifacts and other
important pieces of history. The city also offers places oriented for
children. SciWorks is an interactive museum for children, teaching basics
in all areas of science, and offering fun experiments and educational
tours. The Children's Museum of Winston-Salem is based on literature,
incorporating classic stories and fairy tales into its permanent and traveling
exhibits for younger children.
Art
Winston-Salem is often referred to as the "City of the Arts,"
in part because of its history, in having the first arts council in the
United States, founded in 1949, and for the local art schools and attractions.
These include the North Carolina School of the Arts, The Little Theatre
of Winston-Salem, the Piedmont Opera Theater, the Winston-Salem Symphony,
the Stevens Center for the Performing Arts, and the Sawtooth Center for
Visual Arts. There are many galleries and workshops in the city's art
district centered at Sixth and Trade streets. The city plays host to the
National Black Theatre Festival and the RiverRun Film Festival. Winston-Salem
is also the home of the Art-o-mat, and houses nine of them throughout
the city. The city is also home to Carolina Music Ways, a grassroots arts
organization focussing on the area's diverse, interconnected music traditions,
including bluegrass, blues, jazz, gospel, old-time stringband, and Moravian
music. Once a year is it also the home of the Heavy Rebel Weekend music
festival. Winston-Salem is also home to one of the largest 'Indie' music
& art scenes in the state. The Werehouse, a local hang-out, artists'
residence, and theatre is the center of this growing lifestyle and artistic
genre.
Sports
Winston-Salem provides a number of athletic attractions. The Warthogs
are a Class A Minor-League baseball team currently affiliated with the
Chicago White Sox. The team plays its home games at historic Ernie Shore
Field from April to early September. Its players have included Carlos
Lee, Joe Crede, Jon Garland, and Aaron Rowand, all of whom have played
extensively at the major league level. The newly established Twin City
Cyclones hockey team also make Winston-Salem home. They are in the Southern
Professional Hockey League. Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State
University both have outstanding basketball programs. Wake Forest is an
original member of the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Among
the successful NBA players who have graduated from Wake Forest are Tim
Duncan, Josh Howard, Muggsy Bogues, Chris Paul, and Rodney Rogers. Wake
Forest plays basketball in the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum,
which has quickly become one of the nation's toughest venues under Coach
Skip Prosser. Since Coach Prosser's arrival, Wake has frequently been
nationally ranked in the Top 20 and made numerous post season appearances,
including an NIT championship in 2000 and a trip to the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen
in 2004. Wake Forest University's football team plays its games in Groves
Stadium, which seats 31,500 and is located across the street from the
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Wake's football team won the
ACC football championship in 2006 and played in the 2007 Orange Bowl in
Miami, Florida. Wake Forest also fields outstanding women's teams; its
field hockey team won three consecutive national championships between
2002 and 2004. NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series racing takes place from March
until August at city-owned Bowman Gray Stadium, after which the stadium
is converted for football and is used by Winston-Salem State University
for Rams games. Besides major sports, Winston-Salem offers a variety of
community and children's programs. Winston-Salem's YMCAs are a great place
for exercise and athletics for both children and adults. Community recreation
centers also provide cost-effective exercise and sports. Dodgeball is
a recreational sport that has recently gained regional interest. Winston-Salem
Parks and Recreation also maintains several community pools for which
memberships are available.
The
high school basketball talent in the Winston Salem area has also traditionally
been one of, if not the best, in North Carolina.
Shopping
Winston-Salem is home to Hanes Mall, one of the largest shopping malls
in North Carolina. The area surrounding the mall along Stratford Road,
Silas Creek Parkway, and Hanes Mall Boulevard has become the city's largest
shopping district. Numerous shopping centers have been built in the area,
including Hanes Point Shopping Center, Hanes Commons, Pavilions, Stone's
Throw Plaza, Silas Creek Crossing and Thruway Shopping Center.
Other
major shopping areas are found along Peters Creek Parkway (home of Marketplace
Mall), University Parkway, Jonestown Road, North Point Boulevard, Reynolda
Road, and Robinhood Road.
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