West Salem Historic District
Why it's listed
Along the southwestern edge of Winston-Salem, West Salem grew out of farmland and outlots once belonging to the Moravian town of Salem. The Stockburger Farm, established in 1782, is the earliest resource identified, though its present appearance reflects alterations around 1900. Development accelerated after the 1843 Ackerman-Reich House on Poplar Street, with a main wave of construction from about 1865 through the 1950s. The district contains about forty single-pile cottages, around thirty gable ell cottages, twenty-six I-houses built from the 1880s to about 1910, and sixteen Queen Anne cottages. Workers' housing lines streets such as Albert, Wachovia and Apple. Later bungalows and Minimal Traditional houses extend the sequence. The district is regarded as one of the best collections of historic neighborhood commercial buildings in the city. It is significant for illustrating both working-class and middle-income residential forms tied to the textile and tobacco industries of Salem and Winston.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is significant for its role in the suburban and industrial growth of Salem and early Winston-Salem, with housing for mill and tobacco-industry workers alongside middle-income homes. It also contends the district has a significant collection of late nineteenth and early twentieth century house types, including I-houses, cottages, Queen Anne cottages and Craftsman bungalows, plus a notable group of neighborhood commercial buildings.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 04001524, listed January 19, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Business 40, Poplar, Salem Ave., Walnut, Shober, Hutton Sts, Granville Dr. and Beaumont St., Winston-Salem |
|---|---|
| County | Forsyth County |
| Listed | January 19, 2005 |
| Reference number | 04001524 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | c.1865-1957 |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Queen Anne; Bungalow / Craftsman; Colonial Revival; Period Cottage; Minimal Traditional |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 350 |
| Coordinates | 36.08364, -80.24524 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 04001524.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q21016335
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.