Winston Salem Visitor Guide 2017 - 11

Foundations

Brickmaker George Black helped build Winston-Salem.

PHOTOS (TOP LEFT): JAY SINCLAIR; (BOTTOM LEFT): COURTESY OF THE KIMPTON CARDINAL HOTEL;
(POSTCARDS) MOLLY GROGAN RAWLS (THIS PAGE): JAY SINCLAIR

It's easy to assume that
business tycoons like R.J.
Reynolds and P.H. Hanes
built Winston-Salem. But it
was brickmaker George Black
who - quite literally - laid
the foundation for the city we
know today.
The son of former slaves,
Black came to Winston in 1889
and took a job at Hitchcock
Brickyard, where he learned the
ancient art of brick-making. In
the 1920s, he began making his
own bricks by hand, molding
them out of Carolina red clay.
His bricks became revered for
their durability, and customers
bought up all he could make.
Among his clients was R.J.
Reynolds, who reportedly
ordered more than a million
bricks to build his tobacco
factories.
While the brick industry
became largely mechanized over
the years, Black never changed
his approach. He continued to
churn out thousands of bricks
daily, handcrafting them behind
his home. To this day, you can
see signs of his handiwork all
over town, from sidewalks
in Old Salem to mansions
WITHSTANDING TIME At the Forsyth County
in Buena Vista, a prestigious
Government Center, a bronze statue honors George
neighborhood just outside
Black's legacy.
downtown Winston-Salem.
Black became a celebrity of sorts in 1971 when CBS broadcaster Charles Kuralt
interviewed him for a segment on The CBS Evening News. This led to a Goodwill mission
in Guyana where Black - then in his 90s - taught local villagers how to make bricks
by hand. He passed away in 1980 at the age of 103, having made bricks for more than
eight decades. A bronze statue of him now stands outside the Forsyth County
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mark on Winston-Salem. ws

FINDING
BLACK'S BRICK

Here's a quick look
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George Black's brickwork
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OLD SALEM
(specifically, the sidewalks
and the Market Firehouse)
SALEM COLLEGE
LIBRARY
(601 S. Church St.)
THE FORMER YWCA
(now The Glade at West End
condominiums, 1100 block of
Glade Street NW)
THE FORMER
WELLS FARGO BRANCH
IN WEST END
(916 W. Fourth St.)
THE BLACK-PHILLIPSSMITH BUILDING
(2301 N. Patterson Ave.)
SAWTOOTH SCHOOL
FOR VISUAL ART
(251 N. Spruce St.)

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Winston Salem Visitor Guide 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Winston Salem Visitor Guide 2017
