This is marker number 31 and it was erected by the city of Winston-Salem in 2013 to honor one of…read morethe earliest settlers in the city. It has the same text on both sides. It reads, "This site marks the location where Thomas J. Wilson built the first home in what would become the town of Winston. Wilson had received permission from the Moravian Church in 1847 to erect his dwelling north of Salem's central area, as he wanted to live in the country. An attorney, Wilson was a member of the Forsyth County bar for over half a century. Wilson served as Forsyth County's first attorney, was judge for the Eighth Judicial District, a state senator, and mayor of Winston for two terms. After a life of service to First Presbyterian Church, Wilson died in 1900 at the age of eighty-five." Thomas J. Wilson built the first home in what became Winston after purchasing rural land from the Moravians in 1847, seeking a quiet place outside Salem. He went on to become one of Forsyth County's most prominent early leaders, serving as the county's first attorney, a judge, a state senator, and a two‑term mayor. A key figure in organizing the area's Presbyterian community, he remained influential for decades until his death in 1900. There is metered parking here but it's busy during the week with the courthouses nearby. [Review 613 of 2026 - 4701 in North Carolina - 25794 overall]

At the top of this hill next to a service station and near a diner, this marker points out a local…read morehero who was honored when the county was formed. The marker has the same text on both sides. It reads, "Officer in the War of 1812. Mortally wounded in Canada, 1814. Forsyth County named for him. Home stood a few feet north of this spot." This is marker number J-12 and it was erected in 1957 by the North Carolina Archives and Highway Departments. There is room to pull over and read the marker. There is more information online. Benjamin Forsyth emerged from relative obscurity to become one of North Carolina's most celebrated frontier soldiers, known for bold raids that made him a legend among his men. Before the war he had already built a substantial life in Stokes County, serving in the General Assembly and amassing significant landholdings. His death in 1814 and the later loss of his only son gave his story a tragic arc, but his reputation endured strongly enough that the state honored him decades later by naming a new county after him. [Review 624 of 2026 - 4712 in North Carolina - 25805 overall]

In downtown Winston-Salem, historical marker 34 was erected by the city to recognize the founding…read moreof the Winston-Salem Rotary Club and standing beside it under the city's tall buildings, you can feel how much civic ambition once pulsed through this corner of Second and Main. The marker reads, "On November 9, 1915, the first organizational meeting of the Winston-Salem Rotary Club, the Piedmont Triad's first Rotary club, was held in the Zinzendorf Hotel at the northeast corner of North Main and West Second Streets. The 24 founding members joined the growing Rotary organization that had been founded in Chicago in 1905. Under the visionary leadership of the Winston-Salem club's first president, Owen Norvell, the club received its charter on February 1, 1916, and quickly grew to become one of the community's most respected civic organizations. Over its first 100 years, Rotary international grew to become an organization of 1.2 million members in over 27,000 Rotary clubs in 150 countries throughout the world." The online entry provides much more information. This Rotary Club helped create the City County Planning Board, supported the preservation of Old Salem, encouraged the relocation of Wake Forest College and the development of the North Carolina Baptist Medical Center. The Rotary Club's influence shows up in places locals pass every day. There is metered parking here but it gets busy on weekdays with the courthouses and the county offices nearby. [Review 614 of 2026 - 4702 in North Carolina - 25795 overall]

This marker is located in downtown Winston-Salem and points out one of the reasons that the tobacco…read moreindustry is so strong in this part of the country. The marker reads, "Wm. Cyrus Briggs. Invented in 1898 one of the first successful automatic cigarette machines. Workshop was 3 blocks east." This is marker number J-52 and it was erected in 1971 by the North Carolina State Department of Archives and History. There is more information online. William Cyrus Briggs, born in 1861 in Turner, Maine, was a pioneering inventor whose cigarette-making machines revolutionized tobacco production and helped companies like R. J. Reynolds compete with industry leaders. After selling his patents to the Murai Brothers in Japan, he continued innovating with the United Cigarette Machine Company, designing even faster machinery. His inventive spirit extended beyond tobacco, as he also created a stamp vending machine and the first return carriage for a typewriter, leaving a lasting mark on early office technology before his death in 1918. [Review 951 of 2025 - 4349 in North Carolina - 24506 overall]

I've never thought much about the RJ Reynolds Company, not being a smoker these days. Of course,…read morethe company is named for the man who founded it but who really thinks about that? But now you can impress your friends and acquaintances that you know the founder's full name: Richard Joshua Reynolds. The sculpture in downtown Winston-Salem honors him and the industry that was key to this city's development. The caption at the base reads, "In 1875, this young Virginian, aged 24, rode into Winston in search of a town in which to build his first tobacco factory. Through the generosity of the citizens of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, this memorial has been erected to honor a successful businessman and public benefactor." The sculpture was completed by artist Earline Heath King and dedicated on June 25, 1979. It shows R. J. Reynolds turning slightly to his right as if taking in the city he helped shape. The bronze figure is detailed and shows Reynolds in a long coat, reins in one hand, hat relaxed at his side, while the horse stands alert with one rear leg lifted as though about to stamp. [Round number review 4700 in North Carolina - 612 of 2026 - 25793 overall]

Just east of the Shallowford Road bridge (that itself is south of US-421), this marker has the same…read moretext on both sides and points out a Revolutionary War site. It reads, "Colonial route across Yadkin River. Scene of Tory defeat by Whigs, 1780. Crossing used in 1781 by army of Lord Cornwallis. 600 yards south." Online there is more information. Shallow Ford on the Yadkin River served as a major eighteenth‑century wagon crossing on the Great Wagon Road and became a focal point for travel and settlement in western North Carolina. It witnessed multiple military actions, including a 1780 Patriot victory over Surry County Loyalists, Cornwallis's 1781 pursuit of Greene across the river, and a brief clash during Stoneman's Raid in 1865. Its long use and repeated strategic importance made it one of the Piedmont's most historically significant river fords. There is a spot here to stop to read the marker. There is also a path down to the riverbank on the west side of the bridge. [Review 608 of 2026 - 4696 in North Carolina - 25789 overall]

Most twentieth-century federal architecture isn't memorable but the Hiram H. Ward Federal Building…read morein downtown Winston-Salem has a certain quiet presence that fits its role. Completed in 1976, it serves as the home of the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, and in 1999, it was officially named for Judge Hiram H. Ward, a long time federal judge born in 1923 who spent much of his career on this bench. The exterior is a straightforward modern federal style, way more functional than decorative, but it anchors its block with the kind of solid, no-nonsense look that one might expect from a courthouse. The architecture is quite fortress-like. Deep setbacks from the street, heavy concrete massing, minimal ground-level glass and a podium-style base that keeps anything vehicular at a distance. It is representative of a broader federal trend towards bunker-ish modernism with simple geometry, reinforced concrete and a preference for durability over ornament. The result is a building that feels intentionally stout, inward-focused, and hard to approach at speed. Inside, the building handles the steady flow of federal judicial business. District court proceedings, administrative offices, and the routing legal work that keeps the federal system running. It's not a flashy stop, but if you're interested in civic architecture or the history of federal courts in the Southeast, it's worth a quick look. [Review 611 of 2026 - 4699 in North Carolina - 25792 overall]

Before there was Winston-Salem, there was Winston and there was Salem. This marker is in front of…read morethe former Salem Town Hall. It reads, "The Salem Town Hall was Salem's last municipal building before the Town's consolidation with Winston in 1913. The last of Salem's town halls to remain standing, the building was designed by the prominent local architect Willard C. Northup and features the Italianate style as well as local Moravian architectural influences. The 1912 Salem Town Hall expresses the local pride and development of Salem in the year before its consolidation with the city of Winston. After the two towns merged, the building continued in use for over fifty years as one of Winston-Salem's most important fire stations. Listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1983." The origin of the town of Salem dates to January 1753, when Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg, on behalf of the Moravian Church, selected a settlement site in the three forks of Muddy Creek. He called this area "die Wachau" (Wachovia) named after the ancestral estate of Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf. The land, just short of 99,000 acres, was subsequently purchased from John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville. On November 17, 1753, the first settlers arrived at what would later become the town of Bethabara. This town, despite its rapid growth, was not designed to be the primary settlement on the tract. Some residents expanded to a nearby settlement called Bethania in 1759. Finally, lots were drawn to select among suitable sites for the location of a new town. The town established on the chosen site was given the name of Salem (from "Shalom" meaning "Peace", after the Canaanite city mentioned in the Book of Genesis) chosen for it by the Moravians' late patron, Count Zinzendorf. On January 6, 1766, the first tree was felled for the building of Salem. Salem was a typical Moravian settlement congregation with the public buildings of the congregation grouped around a central square, today Salem Square. These included the church, a Brethren's House and a Sisters' House for the unmarried members of the Congregation, which owned all the property in town. For many years only members of the Moravian Church were permitted to live in the settlement. This practice had ended by the American Civil War. Many of the original buildings in the settlement have been restored or rebuilt and are now part of Old Salem Museums & Gardens. Salem was incorporated as a town in December 1856. Salem Square and "God's Acre", the Moravian Graveyard, since 1772 are the site each Easter morning of the world-famous Moravian sunrise service. This service, sponsored by all the Moravian church parishes in the city, attracts thousands of worshipers each year. [Review 14988 overall, 490 of 2021, number 2854 in North Carolina.]