Welcome to Historic Salisbury and Rowan County…

a unique blend of a long, colorful history and a wide variety of carefully preserved and reused historic buildings.

Founded in 1753, Rowan County is celebrating its 250^th Anniversary in 2003 and Historic Salisbury Foundation is pleased to offer a very special OctoberTour^tm featuring Salisbury and Rowan County’s oldest and most historic houses.

The tour is Saturday, October 11 from 10 am until 5:30 pm and Sunday, October 12 from 12:30 pm until 5:30 pm.

Rowan County was the last outpost before the unknown wilderness that lay beyond. It was in Salisbury that the Indian trading path and the old wagon road met. Daniel Boone outfitted here in 1769. Andrew Jackson studied law in Salisbury and was admitted to the bar here in 1787. George Washington stayed in Salisbury during his famous southern tour in 1791.

During the War Between the States, a major Confederate prison was located here and now a National Cemetery on its site is the resting place of soldiers from both sides of that war and all later wars.

When the railroad came in 1855, Salisbury became a mainline town that attracted varied industries and grew as a governmental, judicial, and commercial center for this area of piedmont North Carolina.

Today, Salisbury has ten historic districts listed in the National Register of Historic Places (with over 1,200 buildings) and Rowan County boasts some of North Carolina’s finest extant examples of early American architecture.

Since 1972, Historic Salisbury Foundation has committed millions of dollars and countless thousands of volunteer hours in order to save and protect the area’s landmark buildings, downtown commercial area, and older neighborhoods.  Nearly 100 properties have been saved through purchase and resale to sensitive buyers for restoration and by placing protective covenants on deeds. OctoberTour^tm has become a showcase for many of these preserved homes.

Through the efforts of Historic Salisbury Foundation, the remaining 18^th, 19^th, and early 20^th century examples of quality craftsmanship and design will be preserved well into the 21^st century.

 “Historic Salisbury Foundation is a national model for a local historic preservation organization.”

Donovan D. Rypkema, real estate consultant, Washington, D.C.