The Representation of Women at Old Salem Museums and Gardens

Abstract

Old Salem Museums and Gardens is an open air museum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that presents the history of the city's original settlement. The museum contains one of the first official historic districts in the state, and is one of North Carolina's first museums of its kind. Salem, North Carolina was a theocratic society that the Moravian Church founded and operated. One of Salem's main features was its egalitarian nature. This thesis will examine the ways that Old Salem Museums and Gardens displays the history of Salem's women, both positively and negatively. I will also attempt to offer ideas that will help to improve the museum's representation of Moravian women throughout the institution.