MUSE Winston‑Salem. A history museum for Winston-Salem and Forsyth County where every story matters.

Here, our city’s past, present, and future are a continuing conversation, not just archives and artifacts. Your perspective enriches the conversation, enlivens our community, and builds connection and understanding.

Dr. Bahnson's lily pond in Salem, ca. 1890.

Image Courtesy of Old Salem Museums & Gardens

Detail from "This School, This City" (2014), a mural by artist Nicholas Burton Bragg

Mural commissioned by MUSEws and UNC School of the Arts

Winston-Salem Christmas parade, 1965

Image Courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection

R. J. Reynolds headquarters and the new Wachovia building, 1965

Image Courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection

Safe Bus fleet vehicle

Courtesy MUSE Winston-Salem Archives

Rough and Ready Fire Dept, 1893.

Image Courtesy of Old Salem Museums & Gardens

Piedmont Airlines DC-3, operated 1948-1963

Piedmont Airlines

The Van Vleck sisters taught music at Salem Academy and College for over 50 years, ca. 1895.

Image Courtesy of Old Salem Museums & Gardens

United Tobacco Workers Local 22 strike at Piedmont Leaf Tobacco Co., 1946.

Image Courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection

Krispy Kreme production line

Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

Our Story

We welcome diversity and couldn’t exist without it. Our many different backgrounds, perspectives, and recollections—even of the same moment in time—are essential to sharing the story of Winston-Salem.

It was the vision of founding patron Frank Borden Hanes, Sr., to create a place that unites our community through a deeper understanding of history and therefore each other, where all people, curious about the experiences of others, can connect and belong, so that we may fulfill our potential as one city, reaching confidently toward its future while rooted proudly in its past.

Photo: David Wainer

Events

Join us as we continue to share stories and experiences from our community.

We’ve been sharing the stories and experiences of our city through exhibits, public programs, and oral histories. We’ve explored Winston-Salem at work and play, at school and in the street, in moments of crisis and celebration, and through the lenses of its neighborhoods, its social diversity, and its ongoing evolution.

Support Us

For MUSE Winston-Salem to continue contributing to the community, we need the community to contribute to
MUSE Winston-Salem.

Donate

Your generosity helps us unite our community and promote understanding, storytelling, and engagement. MUSE Winston-Salem is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

Our Staff

Dr. Mike Wakeford

Executive Director

Alanna Meltzer-Holderfield

Assistant Director

Board of Directors

Meredith Frazier Britt

Chair

Dr. April Ruffin-Adams

Vice Chair

Rajesh Kapileshwari

Treasurer

Heyward Whetsell

Secretary

Ben Baker

Lou Baldwin

Endia Beal

Dr. Terry Brock

W. Wesley (Wes) Davis

Susan King DeRamus

Thom Elmore

Berkley von Feilitzsch

Veronique George

Drew Gerstmyer

Kevin Goode

Andy Kraft

Akwete McAlister

Mildred Paden

John L. Quinn

Billy Rich

Karen Ruiz

Dr. Benjamin P. Sayers

Anthony M. Tang

Frederick Terry

Benjamin Winikoff