Winston-Salem | Dowdle Fine Art

Called the "Twin City" for its dual heritage and "City of the Arts and Innovation" for its dedication to fine arts and theater and technological research, Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and the fifth largest city in the state of North Carolina. A second nickname "Camel City", refers to the city's historic involvement in the tobacco industry, specifically to the locally based R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's Camel cigarettes. But Winston-Salem is also steeped in history with its origin dating back to January 1753, a few years before the U.S. declared independence. Then, the city was only called Salem. By 1849, the land north was developed and became known as Winston, named after Revolutionary War hero, Joseph Winston. In the 1880s, the U.S. Post Office began referring to the two towns as Winston-Salem, and after a few decades, the towns were officially incorporated as Winston-Salem in 1913. You can still visit parts of restored areas of Old Salem this day, visiting historic places like the Winkler Bakery, famous for its Moravian cookies. And speaking of food, in 1937, Krispy Kreme opened its first doughnut shop on South Main Street.