Timeline of Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Prior to 20th century

• 1769 – Single Brothers' House built in Salem.
• 1771 – Moravian cemetery ("God's Acre") in use in Salem.[1]
• 1784 – Salem Tavern rebuilt.
• 1802 – Salem Academy for girls founded.[2]
• 1840 – Arista Cotton Mill and Fries Woolen Mills in business in Salem.[3]
• 1843 – Salem Vigilant Fire Company established.[4]
• 1849 – Salem becomes part of the newly formed Forsyth County.[5]
• 1851 – New town "Winston" created as seat of Forsyth County.[4]
• 1852 – Western Plank Road (Wilmington-Salem) built.[4]
• 1856
  • Salem incorporated.[6]
  • Charles Brietz becomes first mayor of Salem.[4]
  • Western Sentinel newspaper begins publication in Salem.[4]
• 1859
  • Winston incorporated.[6]
  • William Barrow becomes first mayor of Winston.[4]
• 1861
  • St. Philips Moravian Church built in Salem.[4]
  • May 20: State of North Carolina secedes from the Union.
• 1866 – First National Bank of Salem established.[7]
• 1871 – First tobacco factory in Winston begins operating.[8]
• 1872 – P.H. Hanes & Co. tobacco in business in Winston.[4]
• 1875 – R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in business in Winston.[7]
• 1879 – Wachovia National Bank established in Winston.[7]
• 1890 – Twin-City Daily Sentinel newspaper in publication.[9]
• 1891 – First Catholic Mass held at St. Leo's original church site in the West End.[10][11]
• 1896 – Population: 5,500 in Salem; 13,500 in Winston.[3]
• 1897 – The Journal newspaper begins publication.[9]
• 1899 – Winston-Salem post office established in Winston.

20th century

• 1905 – Baseball comes to Winston-Salem
• 1912 – Winston-Salem Hebrew Congregation formed.[12]
• 1913 – Towns of Salem and Winston merge to form Winston-Salem municipality.[13]
• 1918 – November: Racial unrest.[8]
• 1923 – North Carolina Baptist Hospital opens.[4][14]
• 1927 –
  • Nissen Building completed - would later be the first building in the Southeastern US to install air conditioning.
  • Miller Municipal Airport established.
• 1929 – Reynolds Building (hi-rise) constructed.
• 1930
  • WSJS radio begins broadcasting.[15]
  • Shell-shaped Shell Service Station built.[16]
• 1935 – State Theatre active.[17]
• 1937
  • WAIR radio begins broadcasting.[15]
  • Krispy Kreme donuts in business.[18]
• 1948 – Piedmont Airlines headquartered in city.[8]
• 1951 – Flamingo Drive-In cinema opens.[17]
• 1952 – Temple Emanuel synagogue built.[12]
• 1953 – WSJS-TV begins broadcasting.[19]
• 1956 – Wake Forest College relocates to Winston-Salem.
• 1960 – Winston-Salem exceeds 100,000 for the first time.
• 1965
  • Hanes Corporation headquartered in city.[20]
  • Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts established.[21]
  • Parkway Theatre opens.[17]
• 1966 – Wachovia Building (hi-rise) constructed.
• 1967 – November: Racial unrest.[8]
• 1971 – Black Panther Party, Winston-Salem, North Carolina Chapter established.
• 1975 – Hanes Mall opens.
• 1979 – WGNN-TV begins broadcasting.
• 1981 – Wake Forest University's Layton Field baseball park opens.
• 1982
  • Second Harvest Food Bank begins operating.[22]
  • Southern Garden History Society headquartered in Winston-Salem.[23]
  • RJR Plaza Building constructed.
• 1989 – Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum opens.
• 1993 – Mel Watt becomes U.S. representative for North Carolina's 12th congressional district.[24]
• 1995 – Wachovia Center (hi-rise) built.
• 1997
  • City website online (approximate date).[25]
  • Winston Net (computer training nonprofit) established.[14]
  • Jack Cavanagh becomes mayor.[26]
• 2000
  • Population exceeds 200,000 for the first time.
  • Sister city relationship established with Ungheni, Moldova.[27]

21st century

• 2001
  • Allen Joines becomes mayor.[26]
  • Sister city relationship established with Kumasi, Ghana.[27]
• 2005 – Winston Cup Museum opened by Will Spencer.[28]
• 2006 – Sister city relationship established with Nassau, Bahamas and Shanghai, China.[27]
• 2008 – Wachovia Bank is acquired by Wells Fargo.
• 2010 – Population: 229,617.[29]
• 2011
  • Sister city relationship established with Buchanan, Liberia.
  • Tennis tournament Winston-Salem Open moves here from New Haven, Connecticut
• 2014 – Alma Adams becomes U.S. representative for North Carolina's 12th congressional district.[30]
• 2019
  • Confederate soldier statue on the former grounds of the Forsyth County Courthouse removed after protests and legal challenges.
  • BB&T acquires SunTrust Banks, forming Truist Financial headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina

See also

• Winston-Salem history
• List of mayors of Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Forsyth County, North Carolina
• Timeline of North Carolina[8][31]
• Timelines of other cities in North Carolina: Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Raleigh, Wilmington

References

1. "First Burial in God's Acre". This Day in North Carolina History. North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
2. Patterson's American Educational Directory. 29. Chicago. 1932 – via Hathi Trust.
3. Branson 1896.
4. Tursi 1994.
5. Scholl Center for American History and Culture. "North Carolina: Individual County Chronologies". Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. Chicago: Newberry Library. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
6. Federal Writers’ Project 1939: "Winston-Salem"
7. William S. Powell (ed.), Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press, retrieved June 21, 2015 – via NCpedia
8. "Timeline of North Carolina History". NCpedia. State Library of North Carolina. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
9. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
10. Elliott, J. Eric. Winston-Salem's Historic West End, 2004, page 42.
11. St. Leo the Great Catholic Church Parish History Retrieved January 6, 2019
12. "Winston-Salem, North Carolina". Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. Jackson, Mississippi: Goldring / Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
13. "Winston and Salem Merged, 1913". This Day in North Carolina History. North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
14. Mike Tigas and Sisi Wei (ed.). "Winston-Salem, North Carolina". Nonprofit Explorer. New York: ProPublica. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
15. Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States: North Carolina", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636
16. "It's a Shell of a Building". This Day in North Carolina History. North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
17. "Movie Theaters in Winston-Salem, NC". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
18. "Krispy Kreme Makes its Debut in Winston-Salem". This Day in North Carolina History. North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
19. Charles A. Alicoate, ed. (1960), "Television Stations: North Carolina", Radio Annual and Television Year Book, New York: Radio Daily Corp., OCLC 10512206
20. "Hanes Brand Began in Winston-Salem". This Day in North Carolina History. North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
21. American Association for State and Local History (2002). "North Carolina". Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada (15th ed.). ISBN 0-7591-0002-0.
22. "North Carolina Food Banks". Food Bank Locator. Chicago: Feeding America. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
23. "History". Winston-Salem: Southern Garden History Society. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
24. "North Carolina". 1993–1994 Official Congressional Directory: 103rd Congress. Washington DC: Government Printing Office – via Hathi Trust.
25. "Winston-Salem Home Page". Archived from the original on June 1997 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
26. "History: Mayors of Winston-Salem, 1913 to present". City of Winston-Salem. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
27. "Sister Cities". City of Winston-Salem. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
28. About The Museum Retrieved January 6, 2019
29. "Winston-Salem (city), North Carolina". State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
30. Civic Impulse, LLC. "Members of Congress". GovTrack. Washington, D.C. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
31. Federal Writers’ Project 1939, p. 567: "Chronology"

Bibliography

• "Forsyth County". Branson's North Carolina Business Directory. Raleigh, NC: Levi Branson. 1896.
• Walsh's Winston-Salem, North Carolina, City Directory. Charleston, SC: W.H. Walsh Directory Co. 1904.
  • 1908 ed.
• "Winston-Salem". Automobile Blue Book. USA. 1919.
• Federal Writers’ Project (1939). "Winston-Salem". North Carolina: A Guide to the Old North State. American Guide Series. p. 258+ – via Open Library.. + Chronology
• Ory Mazar Nergal, ed. (1980), "Winston-Salem, NC", Encyclopedia of American Cities, New York: E.P. Dutton, OL 4120668M
• Frank Tursi (1994). Winston-Salem: A History. Winston-Salem, N.C.: John F. Blair. ISBN 978-0-89587-115-2.

External links

• "Town of Salem History". City of Winston-Salem.
• "Town of Winston History". City of Winston-Salem.
• Forsyth County Public Library. "North Carolina Room". Winston-Salem. (local history collection)
• Items related to Winston-Salem, NC, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).
• Humanities and Social Sciences Division. "Resources for Local History and Genealogy by State: North Carolina". Bibliographies and Guides. Washington DC: Library of Congress.