History and Campus
Located in the historic Moravian community of Old Salem, Salem College was originally a girls' school established by the Moravians, who believed strongly in equal education for men and women. The idea for the school began in 1766, when (at the age of 17) Sister Elisabeth Oesterlein walked from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to Salem. On April 22, 1772, the Little Girls' School was founded. Her influence led the school to be among the first to accept non-white students. It became a boarding school in 1802 and in 1866 it changed its name to the Salem Female Academy. The school began giving college diplomas in 1890. In 1907 the name was officially changed to Salem Academy and College and to this day both Salem Academy and Salem College share the campus in Old Salem.
During the summer, the Salem campus has, since 1963, housed one campus of the Governor's School of North Carolina, a state-run summer program for gifted high school students.
The oldest building on Salem's campus is the Single Sisters' House. Originally constructed in 1785, an addition was added in 1819. The Single Sisters' House is the oldest building in the United States dedicated to the education of women. Renovation on the Single Sisters' House began in October 2005, and was completed for a re-opening ceremony on April 22, 2007 - marking the 235th anniversary of the founding of Salem. In the fourth-floor attic of the Single Sister's House is its original 1785 datestone. Several interesting features were found in the renovation process, including graffiti that was covered by plaster. The building is featured in the children's book "Sister Maus," written and illustrated by Salem College Professor John Hutton. The story portrays a mouse as a stowaway on the trip from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to living in the Single Sisters' House. The story was inspired by a mouse hole found in a baseboard of the foyer.
Salem has eight residence halls on campus. Two, Mary Reynolds Babcock and Dale H. Gramley, are designated for first-year students. The additional residence halls are named South, Alice Wolle Clewell (suite style), Bahnson House, Hattie Strong and Louisa Wilson Bitting. Each hall is named after someone who was important to the Salem community. The Fogle Flats are townhouses available to seniors.
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