Moravian Archives, Winston-Salem, N.C.

06/15/2026

Andrea "Andi" Williams, a member of New Philadelphia Moravian in Winston-Salem, was elected. ⤵️ Find a link to the story in the comments.

06/15/2026

Salem Congregation and Saint Philips Moravian Church invite everyone to attend the WORSHIP IN CELEBRATION OF FREEDOM at 7:00 PM on Friday June 19th.

Members of the 10th Ohio US Cavalry will reenact the May 21, 1865 event held at the church where 200 people inside and 600 on the front lawn were told they were free from slavery.

In Honor of America’s 250th Anniversary, this reenactment is being done as our gift to the community. Please come join us! Come early as seating is limited for this event.

06/13/2026

Check out these cute shirts! Buy one and we can all match—on Wednesdays Moravians wear blue! 😉

06/12/2026

Tomorrow is the big day! Join us at Old Salem from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM for a full day celebrating Peter Oliver through guided tours, hands-on activities, live music, and more. All activities are INCLUDED with your standard admission ticket!⁠ ⁠
⁠
For tickets, more information, and schedule of events, visit us at oldsalem.org.

See you soon!

06/12/2026

C’mon, we know you CAN.

UPDATE: We did it!!! Thank you! 26 cans were used in a special CANJO music craft at Laurel Ridge….where they saw treasures from the MMF & learned about our rich musical heritage and the music that is alive today! Pix and report to come soon….! 🥰🎉

Friends of MMF! We need your help! If you are coming tomorrow to the concert, your Moravian Music Foundation needs 26 clean soup/corn type cans for a music project we are doing with Laurel Ridge campers next week. Feel free to contact Darla for pick up or bring them by the Archie K Davis Center. Thank you in advance!!!

06/08/2026

Come and enjoy a fantastic program of demonstrations, music, and a lecture by yours truly!

On June 13th, Old Salem will celebrate the life of Peter Oliver: an enslaved Moravian man who lived and worked in Salem in the late 1700's. Oliver became a skilled potter and craftsman, and is Salem's only documented individual to successfully purchase his own freedom, which was finalized in a Lancaster, PA courthouse on June 13th, 1800🏺

In cooperation with Creative Corridors, this year's Peter Oliver Day will feature special programming and interpretation throughout the district, with an emphasis on Black history, freedom, and post-emancipation life in Salem

Peter Oliver’s story will take center stage in the buildings most directly connected to his life. Activities will include:

📜Highlighted demonstrations in the Single Brothers House Pottery Workshop.
📜Visit the Dianne Furr Moravian Decorative Arts Gallery at the Frank L. Horton Museum Center to learn more about Peter Oliver.
📜Guided tour at 11:00am focused on “Salem’s History through the Eyes of Peter Oliver,” departing from the Garden Education Center.
📜A hands-on fire bucket brigade demonstration (in honor of Oliver’s role in Salem’s historical fire brigade) at 12:00pm at the pump on the square.
📜Guest lecture at 1:00pm in the Wachovia Room at the Old Salem Visitor Center by Sabrina Garity, Assistant Director of the Moravian Archives Southern Province, entitled “The Life and Legacy of Peter Oliver and Christina Bass”.
📜A "Sounds of Salem" concert in honor of Peter Oliver played on the Tannenberg Organ in the Gray Auditorium at the Old Salem Visitor Center at 2:00pm.*
*Separate ticket required https://hubs.ly/Q04hW-SC0

📸Peter Oliver's original grave marker, God's Acre Cemetery, Salem, NC. Photography by Wes Stewart.

06/04/2026

A special shout out to this estate sale for allowing the Archivists to take a look in advance for historical items for the collection. We added two antique candle molds and a local artist’s work to our collection. Don’t worry, there is plenty left!

For those of our followers who enjoy estate sales and are looking for Moravian items or other things, we can’t recommend this enough! It’s this Saturday and Sunday, the address will be shared tomorrow on the website below. The Archives is not affiliated with this sale.

“Family home filled with lovingly gathered treasures, homegoods, and hobby supplies. Homeowner was an avid fisherman, golfer, softball player/coach and maker/ supplier of beeswax candles for Moravian churches.”

View information about this sale in Lexington, NC. The sale starts Saturday, June 6 and runs through Sunday, June 7.

04/18/2026

Make plans now to join us on April 25, from 10:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., when we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with the program "Protected us from all harm" The American War for Independence in Wachovia. Admission is FREE!

04/14/2026

Reminder! The Moravian Archives Southern Province is hosting Christina Bass: History Unveiled Lecture and Showcase this Friday, April 17th at 4:30 p.m. and seats are still available! RSVP for this free event and join us to learn more about the new connections of her family history and her life with Peter Oliver. Follow this link to register for this lecture:

Learn more about Christina Bass, the wife of Peter Oliver, from recent discoveries & view the archival records related to her life.

01/31/2026

If this wintery weather has you feeling too cold to carry on, I heartily encourage you to listen to the story of the Moravian Surveyors and William Churton's misadventures on their exploration of western North Carolina in the winter of 1752-1753. Archivist Sabrina Garity tells the tale of determination in this presentation from the 2025 MESDA Map Seminar.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.