Old Salem Tavern

The original wooden tavern in Salem, North Carolina, was built in 1775.  A tavern was necessary to accommodate travelers and regional residents that the Moravians wanted to come to Salem to purchase their products and to possibly hear about Christ.  The Moravians, however, placed the tavern at the edge of the town so as to have those non-residents have the least possible impact on the townspeople.  Originally, the tavern had no front windows because the residents didn't want anyone to be able to see the activities that were taking place inside. 

The married couple chosen to manage the church-owned tavern had to have a good head for business and be strong witnesses for the Moravian faith.

 In 1784, the wooden tavern burned down (not unusual for those times) and a masonry building, using some of the 1775 basement walls, was constructed.

"Salem's most famous visitor stayed here in 1791. President George Washington, touring the southern battlefields of the Revolutionary War, spent two nights in Salem, attending a service, studying the waterworks system, and speaking to the townspeople."

The tavern was given a larger lot in order to accommodate a barn for putting up traveler's horses and a "dependency" for storing supplies used by the inn keeper.  Barrels of pickles?  crackers?  flour?  sugar?

(Did you know that in 1814 at the Battle of New Orleans the British tried to use barrels of sugar around their cannons as protection against Andrew Jackson' cannonballs?  When the barrels were hit and exploded the sugar showered down over the British cannon which were hot from firing.  The sugar melted and made a sticky goo on everything.  It was impossible to fire the cannon, and, with the help of sugar, Jackson won the Battle of New Orleans.) 

Back to the Salem Tavern...

You can buy a meal here which will be served by folks in period dress - and the meal will be what might have been served to a traveler in the 1700's. 

http://www.oldsalem.org/salem-tavern-museum.html

Old Salem, North Carolina

From the transitional community of Bethabara (meaning "House of Passage"), the Moravian settlers/missionaries planned the permanent town of Salem.  Construction in Salem began in 1766.  All of the 98,985 acres of the Wacovia tract were owned by the Moravian church  The Christian Great Commission is to "go and tell" the good news of Christ's gift of eternal salvation.  All revenues generated in Salem and its satellite villages of Bethabara, Bethania, Friedberg, Friedland, and Hope were intended to support the cause of witnessing to the native Americans and other settlers.

In 1849 Forsyth County was established and Salem fathers didn't want Salem to be the county seat, so the church sold some property just north of Salem for the county courthouse to be built on.  Thus Winston was "born."  It wasn't until 1857 that residents were allowed to purchase their homes and Salem became an official municipality.

Salem merged with nearby Winston in 1913, becoming known as Winston-Salem. This was the only community to ever be officially designated as a hyphenated name for a Post Office by the US Postal Service.

One of the first architectural review districts in the country was formed in 1948 to save Salem from modern development and thus protect the historic remains of this amazing settlement of 1766.  In 1950, Old Salem Inc. was created and has operated portions of this area as museums with period-dressed interpreters populating the area.

From the Visitor's Center you cross a modern main thoroughfare via this 1998 rustic-looking covered overpass.

Woodworking-John loves how things are constructed.  I can imagine what would happen if you turned him loose in a lumber yard somewhere.  I'm guessin' that would be heaven on earth for him!

The sides of the overpass are covered in heavy plexiglass.  I'm sure it serves two purposes:  blocking wind and snow, and preventing fools from throwing things off the bridge onto the road below.






One of the first areas you come to one block off of the main street is known as St. Philips Heritage Center.  It includes the African Moravian Log Church, originally built in 1823,

the St. Philips African Moravian Church built in 1861 with an 1890 addition, a footpath that takes you to the Happy Hill Neighborhood overlook, and the African American and Strangers' Graveyard dating from 1775 to 1859.  (Isn't that odd??)

The first house built in Salem was constructed in 1766 and has been reconstructed on site:

After the beams were put in place the openings were bricked in and then plastered over.  I told John I could probably do that, but if someone wanted me to build a brick wall all by itself (with no beams), trust me, it would fall over in no time at all!!
 
Speaking of plastering:

I don't think it was all about decoration.  I'm thinking this plastering was done to keep winter moisture from degrading the foundation, though they did plaster over only the rock on this foundation and left the brick exposed.

Apparently December and Christmas is the busiest season for Old Salem.  I can imagine it is beautiful - especially with snow (which there has been next to none of this winter!)  There weren't too many period-dressed folks about today.

Pottery and Dyer Shop

After getting home and rummaging through brochures we discovered that we missed one building in Bethabara.  Since we were going back to Winston-Salem anyway, we decided to zip by Bethabara and see the oldest brick structure in the county.

Johannes Schaub, Jr. decided in 1780 to move to Bethabara - and was warmly welcomed because prior to his coming everyone in the settlement had to send their yarn back to Pennsylvania to be dyed - a time-consuming and expensive problem.  Schaub built this house two years later, 1782.  In 1789 he sold his home and business to Gottlob Krause, and John Butner bought Krause out in 1802. 

I love what I call Dutch doors - where it's cut in half and you can open the top half to let in light and fresh air, but the bottom half stays shut and keeps the critters out.  The doorknob being way up high keeps the kids in!

This side is where they must have done their dying, but the kiln for firing his pottery was located in back.  What looks like dots across the roof line are log ends sticking out from the attic flooring supports.

This photo shows how they plastered over the rocks and then painted lines so it would look classier. The bottom left hand corner has a strange bulge to be made of straight edge blocks.  Still, it does look pretty good. 

I don't know if this is a period sign, but I like it.  In fact, I'd like to buy some yarn that color today!

Virginia Snow - Finally!

They said it would start at 3 p.m. - and it started at EXACTLY 3 p.m.  (Well, there was a flurry that morning while we were at church, and our landlord sent us a text to let us know it was FINALLY snowing, but after that lil' flurry it didn't snow again until 3.) 

As it began to snow in the afternoon the birds began flocking to the feeder.  Occasionally we see two birds at a time on the feeder, but today it wasn't unusual to see three.  I guess they were stocking up just in case...

They were very active and catching them sitting still was pretty hard.  This one we caught in flight (look at the top of the feeder.)

The deer came out during the heaviest snowfall.

This is our landlord's home from our driveway.  Jerry built this house himself!  There is a den underground that you can't see from the front, but it's accessible from the outside around back.  Looks snuggy warm right now!






Sunrise this morning showed crystal clear skies.

I took John to work so that I could do some grocery shopping this morning.  (Yeah, right!)  The snow plows came by, (yes, even on these rural roads!) and the drive to work was pretty simple.  We drove pretty slow in case we did find patches of ice - and it let me look at the scenery.

As I was coming home I took some more pictures.

Coming up the driveway

   Our farmhouse from the road





 .

I love wood fence rails - especially snow covered.

The high today is supposed to be 45, so I expect all this snow to be gone by the time John gets off of work.  I hope it's all off of the roads too, because it's going down to 25 tonight...

98,985 Acres

98,985 acres.  That's how much land the Wacovia Tract encompassed.  How do we (they) know that?  Because they had a land management dude with them!

Phillip Christian Gotlieb Reuter was appointed "Forester and Superintendent of Hunters."  I can think of a couple of sons and grandsons that would like to make that their life's work!!  (Come to think of it, there's a granddaughter that might be pretty interested in it, too!)  Today I think we'd just call them Forest Rangers, huh. 

Reuter's first assignment was to survey and patrol to preserve game and protect domestic livestock.  Later his job evolved into managing the forest itself. Wood back then was like oil is now - an absolute necessity for life!   Log homes clad with wood boards and roofed with wood shingles meant life and death.  Wood for fires to heat people and cook food were essential.  Bowls, kitchen utensils, plows, hay forks, and shovels made from wood were needed.

It took Reuter years to map out the Wacovia Tract, finally finishing in 1762.  His completed "great map" measured seven feet by nine feet and is currently located in the Moravian Archives in Old Salem.  This map shows geographical features, timber types found on the tract, stand density, and predominant tree species.  They became concerned about "clear cutting" as opposed to the "pick 'n choose" method of chopping down trees.

The collegium, or church/city fathers, authorized Reuter to identify which trees could be cut down and for what purpose each could be used:

White oak was the best construction timber (nine species of oak were identified) the rest were good for fuel;
Sugar Maple was good on a turning lathe, made good charcoal, and, of course, sap boiled down for sugar so you wouldn't want to cut them ALL down;
Yellow or "tulip" poplar provided good logs for boards;
Hickory wood was excellent for the millwright and for fuel;
Gum trees and Sassafras were used for their medicinal properties...

Stumpage fees were charged to citizens based on the species and tree trunk diameter a man wanted.

"In addition to producing scores of maps of the almost uncharted territory, Reuter compiled a list of 34 kinds of trees and shrubs, along with practical information about their usefulness.  He listed twelve fungi and seven types of stone.  He also described 36 birds, seven fish, nine snakes, 24 insects and creeping vermin and 11 species of flying vermin and insects."  He was a busy lil' fella!

Mike's Automotive

Where to start with Mike's Automotive!?!  These guys are absolutely, unequivocally the best!  Best mechanics, best at being honest, best prices, best at customer service... just absolutely the best! 

How good are they?  Good enough for me to drive all the way from Virginia to Tyler, Texas so that THEY could work on our van.  We trust them implicitly - with ALL our vehicles, from the old farm truck to the Lincoln to the van.  If they say something needs to be done, it needs to be done.  They treat everyone with respect (even us old ladies that most repair shops think are easy marks.)  The shop and their tools are cleaner than a lot of homes I've been in.  Even their tool boxes are not piles of greasy tools.

As if all of those facts weren't enough:  They gave me a keychain tag that is like a nationwide warranty card.  If anything goes wrong with the repairs they've done, call the number on the tag and it will be looked at, verified as warranty work, and set to rights FOR FREE wherever we are!  AND...AND!  it's like AAA if you run out of gas or get a flat!  How many repair shops have YOU been to that compare to Mike's?    

Mike and Jill Crist and all of their crew are awesome folks!  They are on Highway 31E, just outside the east Loop and their phone number is 903 566-5666.  I'm tellin' ya', if you need something done to your vehicle and are anywhere within a hundred miles, it is worth the drive and the time to take it to Mike's Automotive!  (And no, no one paid me anything to write this.  It was my own idea to pay tribute to the rare commodity of honesty and good work.)

Bethabara Log House, c. 1816

(Look at that blue sky!)

Again with the shutters to keep out the cold and the Indians.  There's not much said about this house except that it was constructed about 1816.  It's directly across the road from the palisade fort and began as a Federal House that was later modified in the Greek-Revival style.  Kinda funny thinking of a log home as "Greek-Revival."  Notice the evenly spaced "notches" above and below the door.  Those are cross beams supporting the floors.  I'm guessin' they used rock for the foundation up to 3-4 feet because of snow, wood rot, and termites...  If you click on the picture I think you can enlarge it and see the corners where the logs are cut to "interlock" making for a more solid structure.

This is the back side of the house.  Notice the outside entrance to the root cellar and the water well.  You can see the walls of the fort out front.  I love the moss on the roof.  It's probably not good for the roof, but it's good for me.  Did you know moss grows only on the north side of trees and roofs and things - in the Northern Hemisphere, that is.  In the Southern Hemisphere it grows on the south side.  (Now if you're lost in the woods on a cloudy day and can't tell north from south, east from west, just find a mossy tree trunk and you're home free!  If you know which hemisphere you're in ...)

Bethabara Timeline

The settlement of Bethabara began in 1753.

Wacovia - Settlement begun November 17, 1753

I love the aged look of this stone!  Bethabara was built on the German Moravian tract of land known as Wacovia in what was to become the state of North Carolina.  This is actually the second memorial stone, the first having been erected in 1770.  This stone was placed in 1806 at the site of the first cabin occupied by the Brethren, and moved  in 1850 to the second Gemeinhaus site.

In 1756 a brewery and distiller's house was built (brewing German beer, I'd bet :-)

A Congregation Store opened in 1759 with additions in 1764 and again in 1766.  It served not only the Moravians but also anyone wanting to trade goods including trapper's skins.  In 1764, one "George Loesch brought 300 lbs. of lead ... from the mine on the New River."  I sure hope they were makin' bullets and not cooking pots or dishes out of that lead!

 

Before PA (Public Announcement) Systems, there was the bell.  In 1760 the bell in Bethabara was used to "strike the hour," call folks together for church services, or for emergencies.  The first time that the bell was rung in Bethabara - the only one within 200 miles - it scared the Cherokee Indians so badly that they ran away from the fort.  Later that year, during a storm, the bell was broken into pieces.  The replacement bell was first hung here, but in 1788 it was moved to the new Gemeinhaus where it remains, still being rung, to this day.  (Whoever forged this bell should have been contracted to forge the Liberty Bell!)

In 1763 three wells were dug.  They used a mechanical pump (which was recovered when archaeologists reopened the well in the 1960's) rather than rope and bucket to get the water out.  This well was in continuous use into 1965 for a home built in 1860's.

  

The Apothecary's home and shop were also built in 1763.

In 1766 a Congregation Kitchen was built.  Everyone needed to pitch in and attend to the various tasks demanded of frontier life.  A few people cooking for everyone rather than taking an individual from each household away from what needed to be done made perfect sense.  What's strange to me is that an exception was made of the "Single Brethren and Boys."  They had to cook for themselves in the old kitchen.  Was that to encourage the men to get married??

Bethabara was a "transitional" town.  Construction on the permanent settlement, Old Salem, began in 1766.

The Gemeinhaus

Bethabara being a Moravian Protestant community, of course one of the first things built was a Gemeinhaus, or church.  Construction on the two-story log building began in 1755 and was complete in 1756.  July 8, 1762 an organ, brought from Bethlehem, was set up in the "Saal," or meeting hall, and the sound of an organ was heard for the first time in North Carolina.  Three or more services were held daily, sometimes in English for the benefit of visitors.

In 1788 a second Gemeinhaus was built, this time of stone, and today is the oldest surviving Moravian church in the Southeast, and the ONLY surviving colonial German church with attached living quarters in the United States!  It's fieldstone walls are almost TWO FEET THICK.  Services were held in this Gemeinhaus until 1953 when a new structure was built a few miles away.  Two hundred years of prayers were lifted from this one spot.  Cool!

The exterior walls were covered in plaster and etched to look like classier construction.

Shutters were used to keep the cold out - or Indians out in the event of an attack during the French and Indian War.

 

Substantial steps were built.  Wooden steps wouldn't have lasted very long in the weather.

I'm thinkin,' after my quick trip to Texas, that we could use some stone steps on the front of our home, too, because of the sun damage to our steps.  We've got some pretty good size iron ore rocks - but none as flat as these big babies!

What Keeps John Out of Trouble?

While in Texas I snapped a few pictures of what John does to stay out of trouble:

This is a solid cherry and glass souvenir cabinet.  It's the first thing he ever made.  He got the wood at a specialty shop in Dallas off of I-35, Austin Hardwoods.  The glass cost more than the wood.

John decided to take one of those community courses.  He picked out woodworking and the project he chose was this cabinet.  He learned that practically everything is a "box," and once he learned how to build a box he could change the dimensions to build anything.

(Notice the speaker stand to the right of the cabinet; John put those together in no time at all.)

These end tables are basically the cherry cabinet with different dimensions and no glass.  You can't tell it from this picture, but he actually built in slide trays above the doors so that whether you were sitting upright or reclining in the chair there would be a surface handy for his beverage (usually milk to go with his cookies - think 6' 3" Santa Claus.)

The hospital John was working at in Dallas was going through a renovation and tearing out huge pieces of old oak and throwing them away.  John asked if he could salvage a few pieces, came home, sliced those with his table saw into the thickness he wanted, and used his planer to finish them out.  Then he built another "box," with legs this time and a drawer.  He cut the top to size, routed the edges, and ta-ta! another box.  He has built a bunch of these pieces over the years and given them away as gifts or because someone saw his and asked him to build them one, too.

Then he wanted some place to store his LP record album collection.  Again with the box.  These, I think, are the only things he painted; the rest are stained so he could see the wood grain.  He loves wood grains.  Above the TV, out of the picture is a picture frame he made to put a jig saw puzzle of Bryce Canyon in.  Bryce is one of our favorite vacation memories.

I needed a place to put a microwave so John built this.  Over the years it has been used for several things besides the microwave.  This piece is on casters so it's really easy to move around.

I asked for a "tea" table (We don't drink coffee - neither of us ever has.  I know, it's strange, but that's the fact.)  Not only did I get a table, but he fixed it so that it doesn't get cluttered with books on top - they have their own little hidey-hole!

This chess table is really tricky.  I still haven't figured out how he did it, but each of those squares are different pieces of wood.  I think this is his best piece.  At the time, tables like this were selling in furniture stores for about $300.  To me, this one is priceless!

Our neighbors decided to build a log home of their own after seeing ours, and John again asked if he could salvage some of the throw away wood.  This is solid cedar, the size of a card table, and my second most favorite piece.  He actually built two of them - one for us and one as a house-warming present for the neighbors who shared their cast off lumber.

John went out into our "forest" and cut down a dead pine tree with his handy-dandy chain saw.  He had more trouble building this quilt stand, I think, than all of the other furniture.  The pink quilt was made by our son's paternal grandmother, born in the late 1800's, without the aid of a sewing machine.  (Sentence structure is SO much fun!  That last one read as though she was born "without the aid of a sewing machine - unless you stress the pause indicated by the commas.  Maybe I should have used parentheses instead of commas?)  Each stitch is hand done.  The red-white-and-blue quilt is one of two that John's mother made for us years ago.  These are some of my treasured possessions.

And the best of the best (always save the best for last!):

Yes, John went out to the forest again and chopped down a tree, salvaged some of the trunk and limbs, and made me a log bedstead.  I absolutely love this the best of ALL!!

There is more that he has built and given away like a table top chess board with a drawer to store the chess pieces in, an entertainment center for his momma's living room, a wall hung what-not cabinet for his momma's dining room - lots of stuff.  But now you know how he used to stay out of trouble...  He says he misses his woodworking.  I said he should buy a little enclosed trailer, load all his tools in it and just bring them along!  Lord knows there's plenty of room outside where we're blessed to be staying now for him to set up a few sawhorses. 'Course we might have to leave whatever he built behind... maybe sell it to the landlord? trade it for rent?  Cheryl and Jerry have been so good to us, I think we'd just have to leave it as a thank you. 

God said, "No."

I uncovered this email from years ago while cleaning out our closet in Texas.  I love it!


I asked God to take away my habit. (Chocolate and sweets of all kinds.  In fact, food in general!)


God said, No.  It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.




I asked God to make my handicapped child be whole.


God said, No.   His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary.




I asked God to grant me patience.


God said, No.  Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; It isn't granted, it is learned.




I asked God to give me happiness.


God said, No.  I give you blessings; Happiness is up to you.




I asked God to spare me pain.


God said, No.  Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.




I asked God to make my spirit grow.


God said, No.  You must grow on your own! but I will prune you to make you fruitful.




I asked God for all things so that I might enjoy life. 


God said, No.  I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things.




I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me.


God said, Ahhh, finally, you have the idea.

Now, Where Were We?

Where were we? Ah, yes. Winston-Salem, North Carolina at Bethabara - the first white settlement of the area.

We are way away from the Carolina coast, gettin' close to the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Bethabara is north and just a scoshee west of modern downtown Winston-Salem.  Old Salem, the town laid out by the folks "camping" at Bethabara, is almost slap-dap in the heart of downtown Winston-Salem.  It's around the corner and down the hill from the Visitor's Center.

These Moravians, German-speaking Protestants who came here in the mid-1700's, were religious, neat, orderly craftsmen.  They designed a town rather than merely letting it evolve, so the buildings that make up Old Salem are in a straight line, properly spaced, and built to last.  There are over 30 sites to see as we stroll down the main street: churches, gardens, gunsmith, homes, fire-house, bakery, taverns, haberdashery (hat shop), boy's school, and women's college (?!)  All of these sites are supposed to be populated with folks in period dress.  We, however, ran out of daylight before going on the tour of Old Salem, so we WILL be going back and can bring you pictures then.  Unfortunately, John is on call this weekend, so it will be next weekend.

So much to do, so few weekends left to do it...

* * * * * * * * *

John has been receiving calls from all of our agencies asking if he is available to go back to Kauai.  Seems the hospital back there is asking for a traveler - but specifically for John!  What a compliment!  But, alas, our contract here currently runs to April 7, and Kauai is wanting someone asap.  Another time maybe.  (Sigh.)

BTV

BTV (Had to match the GTT) Back to Virginia:

I left Tyler, Texas at 5 a.m. Wednesday and arrived back in Danville, Virginia Thursday noon.  I might maybe have driven nonstop except I got to Atlanta, Georgia during evening "rush" hour and was stuck in traffic interminably!  So, I surrendered and got a room at my favorite place, Country Inn and Suites.  (Golly those places are nice for the price!)

So this is how the trip went:

8:15 a.m., Shreveport, Louisiana

10:45 a.m., Mississippi

1:25 p.m., Alabama

4:50 p.m., Georgia - Back to Eastern Standard Time - lost an hour :-(

7:45 p.m.  Stopped for the night in Buford, Georgia
7:15 a.m.  On the road again

8:20 a.m.,  South Carolina

9:50 a.m., North Carolina

12:30 p.m., Virginia - 13 GPS miles to the house

12:55 p.m.,  I "have arrived," as Lil' Miss GPS would say.

Unload the van, sort through the stuff, turn up the thermostats, (GOTTA go potty!) set up the laptop, and here I am!  I'll be checking in daily now.  Hope you got to read through some old posts while I was galavanting around...

Do you miss me yet?

Please forgive my absence, but I've been really busy...

In seven days (including a weekend), while in Texas I have managed to:

love on my horses and donkey, cats and dogs, the goats, duck (a Crested Mallard that came to us as a itty-bitty baby and now things he's a goat), chickens, and guineas (first things first, you know!),

managed to see several doctors,
have lab work done,
prescriptions filled,
meet with an appraiser to get the house refinanced at 3.25%,
wheel hub bearings replaced on the van, had engine belts replaced, oil change (Mike's Automotive),
buy new tires (Discount Tire),
get the state inspection done ($14.50) (Allen's),
did some banking,
bought a wireless antenna for an old computer so it would be wi-fi-able ($15.00),
arranged for a new compressor for the house air conditioner (under warranty),
bought a new vacumn cleaner,
had carpets steam cleaned,
cleaned house from top to bottom (and I DO mean cleaned!),
went through my closet and dresser and am giving (literally) 3/4th of the stuff to our local church clinic to share with patients in need,

I should stay and wash the windows of the house, (no small chore since there a TON of them, but it's a wrap-around porch, so I don't have to crawl through bushes or fight fireants!), but I'm ever-so-ready to get back to John.  It may be another few days before you hear from me again because I'll be driving - and it takes 20 hours to get back to Virginia...