Across the Creek from Salem: The Story of Happy Hill

Old Salem, NC Organizing Original Exhibit of African American Photography

African American everyday life at home, work, church and play is chronicled in the original exhibit, Across the Creek from Salem: The Story of Happy Hill, 1816 to 1952.

The exhibit is the culmination of many months of genealogical research sponsored by Old Salem. Residents of Happy Hill and other African-American communities in Winston-Salem, NC, have dug deep into their family histories to recover old photographs and other objects that will be included in the exhibit. Many of the photographs taken from the collections of Old Salem and The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts will be on display for the first time.

Mel White, the Director of African American Programs for Old Salem, is conducting the oral history project that is an outgrowth of the effort to restore and interpret St. Philips Church, the oldest African American church still standing in North Carolina.

"In the process of researching the lives of African Americans who lived in and around Salem and worshiped at St. Philips church, a goldmine of information and photographs have been forthcoming from residents of modern day Happy Hill. The exhibit is constantly evolving and I hope it will encourage others to share information with us," Mel White said.

Anyone with information to share for the oral history project is encouraged to call Mel White at (910) 721-7364 or Ms. Georgianna Paige McCoy at (910) 723-1546 or Dr. William J. Rice at (910) 767-6496.

Across the Creek from Salem will be on display from February 7 to June 7, 1998, at the Gallery at Old Salem, in the Frank L. Horton Museum Center, located at 924 South Main Street in Old Salem. For more information about the exhibit, call (910) 721-7300.