Old Salem Museums & Gardens is a historic site dedicated to preserving and interpreting the rich, authentic, and diverse cultural history of the early South, with a special emphasis on the Moravian settlement of Salem, North Carolina. It functions as a living-history museum, showcasing restored 18th and 19th-century buildings, functional gardens, and traditional craft demonstrations. The site also includes the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), housing a significant collection of decorative arts from the early American South. Old Salem aims to educate visitors about the lives of all who lived in the Salem community, including Moravians, enslaved and free people of African descent, and Indigenous peoples, through interpretive tours, museum classes, and research. It is a non-profit organization focused on community engagement and historical preservation.
