Old Salem is an outdoor living history town in which you can buy ticket to tour history, with restored buildings and costumed interpreters, on the original site of Salem, founded 1766.
Old Salem is an authentic restoration of 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. From a later base in Germany, the Moravians went throughout the world as missionaries and to found settlements. From Bethlehem, Pa., they came to the colony of North Carolina in 1753.
All but four days of the year (unless there is very inclement weather), costumed interpreters describe the life and activities of this religious town, from the very beginnings through the more mature settlement of the 1840s.
Tours are self-guided, but guides and costumed staff aid in the process of viewing and understanding the town's buildings, operations, and the people -- European Americans and African Americans alike -- who made this community grow and prosper.
