A HOUSE RESOLUTION HONORING THE CITY OF WINSTON‑SALEM UPON ITS CENTENNIAL.
Whereas, the Town of Salem was established in 1766 by members of the Moravian church to administer their colony in North Carolina called Wachovia; and the town became an important center for business and commerce in Northwest North Carolina and was incorporated by act of the North Carolina General Assembly in 1857; and
Whereas, the Town of Winston was established immediately north of Salem to serve as the county seat upon the formation of Forsyth County in 1849; was incorporated by act of the North Carolina General Assembly in 1859; and experienced remarkable growth during the latter half of the 19th Century; and
Whereas, following decades of cooperation in civic affairs, the citizens of Winston and Salem voted to consolidate their municipal governments as the City of Winston‑Salem and, by act of the North Carolina General Assembly, this consolidation took effect May 9, 1913; and
Whereas, the new town was led by Mayor Oscar B. Eaton and Aldermen E. D. Vaughn, C. M. Cain, G. E. Webb, P. S. Bailey, N. D. Dowdy, G. W. Edwards, H. F. Shaffner, and F. A. Fogle and has since been led by a succession of able elected officials; and
Whereas, Winston‑Salem was North Carolina's leading city during the 1920s and gave rise to such national corporations as R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Wachovia Bank and Trust Co., Hanes Knitting, Hanes Dye and Finishing, and Piedmont Airlines; and
Whereas, Winston‑Salem served as a model for other cities during the Civil Rights Era by establishing North Carolina's first integrated firehouse in 1951, peacefully desegregating its schools in 1957, and providing the first North Carolina victory of the Sit‑In Movement in 1960; and
Whereas, Winston‑Salem has long been nationally recognized for leadership in the arts, having established the nation's first Arts Council in 1949, and serving as home to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, which was the nation's first state‑supported arts conservatory; and
Whereas, Winston‑Salem is known as "The City of the Arts & Innovation" and is home to numerous performing arts organizations as well as the National Black Theatre Festival, The Southeast Center for Contemporary Art, Reynolda House Museum of American Arts, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Old Salem Museums and Gardens, the RiverRun International Film Festival, Diggs Gallery at Winston‑Salem State University, and Delta Fine Arts Center; and
Whereas, Winston‑Salem's civic leaders aggressively met the challenges of a changing local economy in the 1990s by rebuilding the economy on knowledge‑based industries, including establishing the Piedmont Triad Research Park in order to augment the city's traditional economic base with technology, medicine, and finance; and
Whereas, the City of Winston‑Salem has been recognized as one of America's Top 10 Digital Cities for 11 years in a row, is listed as one of America's Ten Most Livable Cities by Partners for Livable Cities, one of America's 50 Best Cities by Newsweek, one of America's Best Downtowns by Forbes, a Top 10 Place to Retire by CBS, a Top 25 Location for Biotechnology by Business Facilities, and has been cited 22 other times in the past 10 years for the favorable business climate, quality of life, cost of living, and other measures; and
Whereas, 2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the consolidation of Winston and Salem, an occasion worthy of celebration by all North Carolinians; Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
SECTION 1.  The House of Representatives honors the early leaders of Winston‑Salem and joins with the citizens of Winston‑Salem in celebrating the City's 100th anniversary.
SECTION 2.  The Principal Clerk shall transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the Mayor of the City of Winston‑Salem.
SECTION 3.  This resolution is effective upon adoption.