Brookstown Inn: Where Salem Joined Winston

Can you imagine a church-controlled town joining forces with one run by capitalists who made millions from tobacco products? That’s exactly what happened in Winston-Salem. Today the historic Brookstown Inn represents that common ground.

Old Salem

It all began in 1752 when 15 Moravians traveled south from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. They first founded a small village, Bethabara. It was the first European settlement in the Triad Area of North Carolina and settled as a base for farming, not a permanent colony. Next, they moved and began a small village called Bethania. By 1766, they had settled the community of Salem. It is preserved today as Old Salem Museums & Gardens where you can visit and learn about how the Moravians lived.

Winston

The door opened for non-religious residents in 1849 when the Moravian Church sold land north of Salem to the newly created Forsyth County for its county seat. It attracted a tobacco manufacturer, namely one Richard Joshua Reynolds, who built a factory in 1875. Within a few years, numerous other tobacco factories followed suit. Both Reynolda House Museum of American Art and Reynolda Gardens showcase the lifestyle of the Reynolds family.

Entrepreneurs Join Forces

The Moravians were entrepreneurs and opened a cotton mill, Salem Manufacturing Company, in 1837. A Moravian named Francis Fries was the builder and superintendent. The original mill wasn’t too successful until Fries’ son, also named Francis, tried his hand at it. Fries and R. J. Reynolds both saw the need for a railroad between Winston and Roanoke, and in 1887, they joined together to bring that railroad into existence.

The Historic Brookstown Inn

Today, portions of the original mill, and a later Arista Cotton Mill next door, have become a historic hotel, the Brookstown Inn. The hotel preserves much of the original mill structure while adding modern amenities. The lobby and public spaces feel very much like a museum. Displays in the lobby tell the story of the mill and how the two towns merged. One placard reads, “You are standing in the first place in Winston-Salem to use the factory system for work, part of a revolution in American industry, and a herald of change to a distinctive Moravian way of life.”
Another display resembles a family tree and has placards and photos about the factory and the Fries family. Others show beautiful antique quilts, and different factory equipment used when it was a mill.

Historic Architectural Features Merge with Comfort

Red brick walls enhance the property not only in the lobby and dining room, but in some of the accommodations. Mine was a duplex suite with the bedroom and bath upstairs. Downstairs, the suite offered a sitting room with sofa and chair, fireplace, desk, flat-screen TV, microwave, and mini-fridge.

For breakfast, the hotel offered a choice of downhome items: bacon and eggs, sausage, biscuits, and more. In the bright and cheerful dining room wallpapered walls merged with exposed brick, creating a charming atmosphere. And let’s not forget the cookies and milk, available in the parlor each evening from 8 to 9.

Meet Miss Sally, The Brookstown Inn Mascot

In the parlor, I met a regal-looking tabby cat reclining on a red velvet chair, Miss Sally, the hotel’s resident feline. She stepped into the hotel unannounced on September 30, 2013, and when they took her to the vet, a microchip was discovered identifying her owners all the way from Seattle. When the decision was made not to return for her, the hotel stepped in and claimed her. No surprise that she is now the mascot. The hotel thinks she may have climbed into the back of a semi and traveled across the county. She couldn’t have picked a better hotel at the end of her travels. When you visit Winston-Salem, take Miss Sally’s advice about where to stay.

www.visitwinstonsalem.com