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The South Ward's boundaries are Business 40 on the north, Salem Avenue and South Main Street on the east; Lockland Avenue south to Silas Creek Parkway to just east of Griffith Road on the West.
Molly Leight represents South Ward on the City Council.
It might well be called our historic heart, since it is here that the Moravians founded Salem in the mid 1700's. Their reconstructed town is now one of the largest tourist attractions in the state. Many local people are employed recreating the past to educate today's visitors. Some of the original commerce of the Moravians continues, and with the continuing success of Salem College overlooking the square, and the private high school Salem Academy, education is still important too.
The strollway, a City project completed in 1990, separates Old Salem from the South Marshall area. It enters South Ward under Business 40, winds its way past modern buildings and refurbished offices like in the old railroad freight terminal, now a restaurant, and the Leinbach house and past renovated private homes that overlook Old Salem. Downtown workers use the strollway for a lunchtime walk and residents use it for biking and jogging. It also passes the new Old Salem Visitors Center.
Using a combination of city and private funds, the South Marshall plan has turned a dilapidated neighborhood into a showplace of upscale condominiums, town houses and renovated single family homes and new construction is underway.
A little further down South Marshall is the Roger Pace Business and Technology Center which acts as an incubator for small business entrepreneurs.
The southern gateway project that will someday welcome vistors who enter Winston-Salem through South Ward is underway.
Busy restaurants, some in converted factories both on South Marshall and nearby, are an important part of the night life of Winston-Salem. Lodging can be found in bed and breakfast establishments like the Shaffner House and Brookstown Inn, or in more traditional hotels such as Salem Inn, or the Hawthorne owned and managed by Baptist Hospital as both a hotel and a conference center.
It isn't difficult to get away from the hustle of commerce though. Just take a walk past the historic Moravian cemetery called "God's Acre" or on the streets of the beautiful Washington Park area just a few blocks down South Broad Street.
Washington Park with its magnificent well maintained older homes, seems to have effectively resisted the commercialization that has touched so much of old South Ward. Its residents worked hard to get it a historic district designation. Just to the west, residents of the West Salem neighborhood are also working for a historic district designation.
There are other established neighborhoods such as Konnoak, and newer neighborhoods off Ebert Road and Griffith Road. Just off Business I-40 is this successful City financed renewal project of town homes, called Salem Pointe.
Modern commerce is exemplified by the hustle and bustle of businesses and restaurants on Peters Creek Parkway and on Silas Creek Parkway. Not too long ago, the city limits and development stopped right here where Interstate 40 now crosses South Ward. The demands of new residents down Highway 150 has resulted in more businesses and services and a growing South Ward.
Education's importance is not confined to Old Salem. There are nine schools in South Ward from elementary to both public and private high schools. The school administration complex is here as is Forsyth Technical Community College.
The City's commitment to recreation is shown in some of the cities oldest neighborhood recreation areas Washington Park and Granville Park. There's a municipal pool near Parkland High School. The Bolton Park pool is the City's largest, and busiest in the summer. The Bolton Park fitness trail, picnic shelter and playground are in use almost year round.
Georgia Taylor Recreation Center offers a variety of programs through our Recreation and Parks Department. At Hobby Park off Clemmonsville Road, are several specialized attractions including two areas for radio controlled airplane enthusiasts, a track for radio controlled cars and one of the finest soap box derby tracks in the nation. Several soap box races are held here every year. Golfers can enjoy the privately owned Heather Hills Course on Ebert Street.
It is the heart of our city's heritage, it's shopping, entertainment, education and home...this is South Ward.
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