[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 65 (Thursday, May 9, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3322-S3323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA

  Mr. BURR. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to Winston-
Salem, NC, which I proudly call home. This year marks the 100th 
anniversary of the consolidation of the towns Winston and Salem. Before 
their consolidation, each town had a long and prosperous history. Salem 
was established in 1766 by members the Moravian Church. Today, Old 
Salem Museum and Garden still shows life as it was 200 years ago. It 
features the iconic 12-foot tall coffee pot first erected by Julius E. 
Mickey to attract customers to his tin shop in 1858 and the Moravian 
Easter Sunrise Service in God's Acres cemetery has been a yearly 
tradition since its inception in 1773. The town steadily increased in 
influence and commerce activity and was incorporated by the North 
Carolina General Assembly in 1857.
  In 1849, Salem sold the land to its north to Forsyth County to serve 
as the county seat. The land was named Winston, in honor of local 
Revolutionary War hero, Joseph Winston. Ten years later the town was 
incorporated. In the 1870s the town was connected to the North Carolina 
Railroad. This gave way to many factories; Reynolds and Hanes being the 
largest. Their healthy competition helped Winston grow remarkably over 
the next three decades.

[[Page S3323]]

  The two towns worked closely together on many issues, and began to 
have a unified identity. Winston and Salem's citizens then voted to 
consolidate the two towns into the city of Winston-Salem. This 
officially took effect May 9, 1913, and Oscar B. Eaton was elected the 
first mayor of the newly formed city. After consolidation, Winston-
Salem was one of North Carolina's foremost cities throughout the 1920s 
due to vastly successful R J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Wachovia Bank and 
Trust Co., Hanes Knitting, Hanes Dye and Finishing, and Piedmont 
Airlines.
  The Winston-Salem Arts Council was founded in 1949, and was the first 
of its kind in the Nation. It has led to the rich arts culture that 
Winston-Salem enjoys today. The University of North Carolina School of 
the Arts was established as the first of its kind State-supported arts 
college in the United States. Through the years the university has 
equipped thousands of men and women developing the arts in the program 
to incorporate dance, design and production, drama, film making, and 
music. Today, Winston-Salem is known as ``The City of the Arts and 
Innovation.''
  As the economy changed in the 1900s, the leaders of the city 
successfully worked to make Winston-Salem prosperous in the new age by 
establishing the Piedmont Triad Research Park, which recently became 
the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter. This equipped the city with 
technological and medical jobs that has grown to be the leading of 
industry in Winston-Salem today.
  Winston-Salem has received many accolades for its friendly business 
environment, low cost of living, lively downtown district, and many 
other aspects. In Winston-Salem, May 9-12 has been set aside to 
celebrate the 100th anniversary of their consolidation. So I join my 
fellow Winston-Salem citizens and leaders in celebration of this 
historic anniversary.

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