The West Salem neighborhood was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, but some residents wanted greater recognition for its unusual combination of farming, industrial and residential history.
Last night, the Winston-Salem City Council recognized West Salem for its designation as a Preserve America Community -- the first such designation for Winston-Salem.
"They want to see more than just a bedroom neighborhood with the big houses, although that's great, too," said Michael Bricker, the founder of the West Salem Historical Association and one of the people who worked on the application for the designation.
The Preserve America program started in 2003, said Bruce Milhans, a spokesman for the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, an independent federal agency that administers the program. More than 800 communities, including towns, neighborhoods or tribal communities, have received the honor. Twenty-two are in North Carolina, including Asheville, Wilmington and Banner Elk.
Those that get the designation protect and celebrate their heritage, promote their history and use historic assets for economic development, Milhans said.
When a community gets the designation, it is eligible for Preserve America grants, matching grants that support heritage tourism, education and economic development, Milhans said. Since 2005, $17 million in grants has been given out. They range from $20,000 to $250,000.
Bricker said he believes that West Salem's unusual mix of residential, farming and industrial history made it eligible.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, West Salem provided the village of Salem with rich farmland and orchards, he said. In the 19th century, West Salem was an independent town that was a way station for travelers to the west, he said. Beginning in the mid-19th century, West Salem was the site of a number of industrial operations, including a berry-drying operation, Bricker said. Many such sites, along with old roadbeds and gardens, could be studied by archeologists through the Preserve America program.
West Salem has more than 100 houses from the 19th century, many of which have not been restored, he said. It might be possible under the grant program to restore and study clusters of those houses as a group.
Bob Litaker, a member of the West Salem Civic Club, which sponsored the application to Preserve America, said that the designation recognizes some serious work that has gone on in the neighborhood over the past 20 years. West Salem has worked to improve its homes, drive out crime and eliminate illegal rooming houses, he said.
"The community has gone from being known as a down-and-out community," he said, "to a well-established community."
mgiunca@wsjournal.com
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