The Belo Home

This magnificent Greek Revival home stands out among the smaller colonial structures in Old Salem, the Moravian colonial town opened to tourists in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Johann Friedrich Belo (earlier spelled Boehlow, Boelo, or Below) bought the property in 1808. His son, Edward was born in 1811.

Like his father, Edward grew up to be a cabinet maker, which he studied at the Boys' School in Salem. After finishing school, he apprenticed in a cabinet shop in Pennsylvania. He returned to Salem and married Caroline Amanda Fries in 1837. He bought and ran an linseed oil mill north of Salem for a while, but he replaced it with an iron foundry. 

In 1849, Edward bought his widowed mother's house and his brother's on the adjoining lot. He asked permission to build an imposing home on Main Street. The home cost around $3,000. To begin with, he ran a dry good business on the first floor, and the family lived on the second floor. By this time, he and his wife had seven children.The columned portico and a third story were added in 1859. 

Because of Edward's woodworking and iron works, the house has many notable features. One first notices the column capitals, the decorative iron grill work, and the life-size cast iron dogs and lion on posts at the sidewalk. He retired from his successful store at the outbreak of the Civil War, but continued his civic interests. For example, he helped form the North Western North Carolina Railroad company after the war.

Edward's garden was also viewed as a thing of beauty, and his roses were considered alluring treasures. A facsimile of the gardens still stands beside the house. Regrettably, the home is not open to the public, but you can see it from the outside and enjoy its outside splendor.

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