Historic marker honors site of first R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company factory
North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler speaks as Winston-Salem East Ward Council Member Annette Scippio listens during the unveiling of a historic marker at the site of the first factory built by R.J. Reynolds. PAUL GARBER/WFDD
Winston-Salem officials unveiled a historic marker Tuesday where R.J. Reynolds started his namesake tobacco company. The event marked the 150th anniversary of the business.
R.J. Reynolds built what’s called “The Little Red Factory” on what was then “Depot Street” back in 1875. It served as the first home of the company.
Among the speakers at the unveiling was Noah Reynolds. He serves on the Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission and is a direct descendant of the company founder.
“The land here where the first factory building stood was purchased by my great grandfather, R.J., from the adjacent Moravian community of Salem," he says. "And the modest, two-story building was strategically positioned in between the thriving tobacco market and a newly constructed railroad line.”
Phil Archer is the deputy director of Reynolda House Museum of American Art. He says the factory location is part of the origin story of the country.
“Tobacco was America's earliest enterprise, going all the way back to the Jamestown Colony," he says. "And this site marks a moment when it was propelled into the Industrial Age.”
The marker is located on Chestnut Street near the Forsyth County Courthouse.
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