Old Salem Tour of African American Church and Graveyards

Reconstructed African Moravian Log Church © Katrena

The African American church and graveyards were the first stop on our walking tour of Old Salem. A knowledgeable tour guide greeted us on the front porch of a reconstructed African Moravian log church and invited us to come inside.

African American Woman at Old Salem © Katrena

African American Musician from Old Salem © Katrena

Upon entering, we noticed statues, paintings, and silhouettes positioned throughout the room. These were depictions of various African Americans who were buried in the adjacent graveyard. Each one had a story that was told in a recording. Visitors could pick up a receiver that looked like a phone and push a button to hear each person detail his or her life. A short paragraph also described each person.

Lives Memorialized at Old Salem © Katrena

The people featured were quite interesting, from a newborn infant to a man who had lived to be over 100 years old. Each story was unique and pieced together by records found at Old Salem. I found it interesting and a bit unusual that each person's tombstone was encased near the statue or painting. Tombstones aren't typically removed, yet we discovered later why these stones would be found in the building rather than marking each grave outside.

Artwork in African Moravian Log Cabin © Katrena

If you look up, you'll see interesting artwork near the ceiling, and these images also appear in the accompanying short video about African Americans at Old Salem. The video had captions for visitors to read, and my 8-year-old enjoyed reading each one, but a few of them were a little too long for her to read before the next page would appear, but the video was quite informative and provided a wealth of information about life for African Americans who lived in this Moravian community.

African American History at Old Salem © Katrena

At one point in Old Salem history, African Americans were rented from the church rather than bought and sold to individual families. Perhaps renting a person seemed proper at the time. A recent formal letter of apology by the church was also shown on the video.

After exiting the back door, our guide lead us toward North Carolina's oldest standing African American church. St. Philips African Moravian Church was originally built in 1861, with an expansion added in 1890.

Tombstone in Stanger's Graveyard at Old Salem © Katrena

The yard in front of the church was the graveyard for many of the African Americans who had lived and died in Old Salem between 1816 and 1859 and also served as the community's graveyard for strangers, who were folks who lived nearby or were traveling in the area who did not profess to be Moravians.

Archaeological Digs Reveal Resting Places at Old Salem © Katrena

Tombstone Marking African American Grave at Old Salem © Katrena

Although at least 131 people are know to be buried in this yard, only one African American tombstone lies in its original place. The other grave markers simply identify the people buried as either a child or an adult. Our guide explained that earlier efforts to "beautify" the yard included pulling up the tombstones and placing them under the church.

Tribute to African Americans at Old Salem © Katrena

Later, this was determined to be disrespectful to the souls buried in the yard and archaeologists have been trying to piece together the history at least to the point of identifying each grave's location. A large stone rests directly in front of the church that contains all of the names and epitaphs and any known information about the 131 persons known to be buried at this location. This also solved the mystery of the tombstones now located inside the log church.

St. Philips African Moravian Church is still in use as the congregation that typically meets at another location will hold services on fifth Sundays. The original light fixtures still hang from the ceiling. The sanctuary houses some beautiful ornate antique chairs and an antique piano at the front. Pews have a dividing line down the center – rules of those days dictated that women would sit on the right while men would sit on the left.

My girls were excited to have the opportunity to climb the stairs to a sort of loft area. The pew upstairs facing the front of the church may have seated the choir or congregation members who played instruments. The center of the room upstairs contains chairs set up to resemble a Sunday school room, and records of attendance and a large collage containing pictures of descendents gives faces to some of the folks who have deep roots in Old Salem.

An old cookstove is on display downstairs, complete with a beautiful old teapot. The stove looks to be in excellent condition. My 4-year-old would have loved to have played with that stove! Across the hall from this room lies more history. This front part of the church was added above existing graves in the stranger's graveyard, and one section of the floor has been replaced with glass so that visitors can glimpse some of the graves below.

Stranger's Graveyard Under Church Viewed Through Glass Floor © Katrena

I found it sobering to see the simplicity and sorrowful history found in the African American section of Old Salem. This graveyard served as a sharp contrast to God's acre at the other end of our Old Salem tour. This section also may remind us of the resiliency of African Americans and their capacity to love and forgive, I'm glad to see that many of their ancestors now have a "voice" to share with others.

Find more of Katrena's articles at Travel NC With Kids.