In 1766, a small group of women and girls migrated on foot from the Moravian School for Girls in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to open a new school for girls in Salem, North Carolina.

Of the 20 walkers, there were twelve girls aged 13 to 17. One of those girls, Salome Meurer, kept a detailed journal of her travels.

In October 2021, a group of students and alumnae from Salem Academy and College celebrated their 250th anniversary by replicating this historic journey from campus to campus, using Salome's journal as their guide. Moravian Academy welcomed the reenactors at the start of their month-long journey, and celebrated our common ancestors. These included Elizabeth Oesterlein, age 17, who attended the Girls School in Bethlehem and became the first teacher at the girls’ school in Salem, and Anna Rosina Boeckel, age 14, who eventually returned to Bethlehem and is buried in God’s Acre on the Downtown Campus. Members of the class of 2032 located her grave and placed flowers on it to mark the occasion.

On March 15 at 8:00 PM, PBS North Carolina  will debut the “Journey to Salem” documentary, chronicling this historic reenactment. The documentary, which includes current students on the Downtown Campus, will be accessible for streaming via the PBS app on Roku, Apple TV or mobile devices on March 15. It also will be available live on March 15 at 8 PM at the pbsnc.org website. You can learn more by visiting the website of Salem Academy.