The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.

• 1769 – Single Brothers' House built in Salem.
• 1771 – Moravian cemetery ("God's Acre") in use in Salem.^[1]
• 1784 – Salem Tavern rebuilt.
• 1802 – Salem Academy for girls founded.^[2]
• 1840 – Arista Cotton Mill and Fries Woolen Mills in business in Salem.^[3]
• 1843 – Salem Vigilant Fire Company established.^[4]
• 1849 – Salem becomes part of the newly formed Forsyth County.^[5]
• 1851 – New town "Winston" created as seat of Forsyth County.^[4]
• 1852 – Western Plank Road (Wilmington-Salem) built.^[4]
• 1856
  • Salem incorporated.^[6]
  • Charles Brietz becomes first mayor of Salem.^[4]
  • Western Sentinel newspaper begins publication in Salem.^[4]
• 1859
  • Winston incorporated.^[6]
  • William Barrow becomes first mayor of Winston.^[4]
• 1861
  • St. Philips Moravian Church built in Salem.^[4]
  • May 20: State of North Carolina secedes from the Union.
• 1866 – First National Bank of Salem established.^[7]
• 1871 – First tobacco factory in Winston begins operating.^[8]
• 1872 – P.H. Hanes & Co. tobacco in business in Winston.^[4]
• 1875 – R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in business in Winston.^[7]
• 1879 – Wachovia National Bank established in Winston.^[7]
• 1890 – Twin-City Daily Sentinel newspaper in publication.^[9]
• 1891 – First Catholic Mass held at St. Leo's original church site in the West End.^[10][11]
• 1896 – Population: 5,500 in Salem; 13,500 in Winston.^[3]
• 1897 – The Journal newspaper begins publication.^[9]
• 1899 – Winston-Salem post office established in Winston.

• 1905 – Baseball comes to Winston-Salem
• 1912 – Winston-Salem Hebrew Congregation formed.^[12]
• 1913 – Towns of Salem and Winston merge to form Winston-Salem municipality.^[13]
• 1918 – November: Racial unrest.^{[8][failed verification]}
• 1923 – North Carolina Baptist Hospital opens.^[4][14]
• 1927 –
  • Nissen Building completed - would later be the first building in the Southeastern US to install air conditioning.
  • Miller Municipal Airport established.
• 1929 – Reynolds Building (hi-rise) constructed.
• 1930
  • WSJS radio begins broadcasting.^[15]
  • Shell-shaped Shell Service Station built.^[16]
• 1935 – State Theatre active.^[17]
• 1937
  • WAIR radio begins broadcasting.^[15]
  • Krispy Kreme donuts in business.^[18]
• 1948 – Piedmont Airlines headquartered in city.^[8]
• 1951 – Flamingo Drive-In cinema opens.^[17]
• 1952 – Temple Emanuel synagogue built.^[12]
• 1953 – WSJS-TV begins broadcasting.^[19]
• 1956 – Wake Forest College relocates to Winston-Salem.
• 1960 – Winston-Salem exceeds 100,000 for the first time.
• 1965
  • Hanes Corporation headquartered in city.^[20]
  • Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts established.^[21]
  • Parkway Theatre opens.^[17]
• 1966 – Wachovia Building (hi-rise) constructed.
• 1967 – November: Racial unrest.^[8]
• 1971 – Black Panther Party, Winston-Salem, North Carolina Chapter established.
• 1975 – Hanes Mall opens.
• 1979 – WGNN-TV begins broadcasting.
• 1981 – Wake Forest University's Layton Field baseball park opens.
• 1982
  • Second Harvest Food Bank begins operating.^[22]
  • Southern Garden History Society headquartered in Winston-Salem.^[23]
  • RJR Plaza Building constructed.
• 1989
  • Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum opens.
  • Tornadoes hit the Winston-Salem area and Forsyth County on May 5. These tornadoes were part of the May 1989 tornado outbreak across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.
• 1993 – Mel Watt becomes U.S. representative for North Carolina's 12th congressional district.^[24]
• 1995 – Wachovia Center (hi-rise) built.
• 1997
  • City website online (approximate date).^{[25][chronology citation needed]}
  • Winston Net (computer training nonprofit) established.^[14]
  • Jack Cavanagh becomes mayor.^[26]
• 2000
  • Population exceeds 200,000 for the first time.
  • Sister city relationship established with Ungheni, Moldova.^[27]

• 2001
  • Allen Joines becomes mayor.^[26]
  • Sister city relationship established with Kumasi, Ghana.^[27]
• 2005 – Winston Cup Museum opened by Will Spencer.^[28]
• 2006 – Sister city relationship established with Nassau, Bahamas and Shanghai, China.^[27]
• 2008 – Wachovia Bank is acquired by Wells Fargo.
• 2010 – Population: 229,617.^[29]
• 2011
  • Sister city relationship established with Buchanan, Liberia.
  • Tennis tournament Winston-Salem Open moves here from New Haven, Connecticut
• 2014 – Alma Adams becomes U.S. representative for North Carolina's 12th congressional district.^[30]
• 2019
  • Confederate soldier statue on the former grounds of the Forsyth County Courthouse removed after protests and legal challenges.
  • BB&T acquires SunTrust Banks, forming Truist Financial headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina
• 2022
  • A fire at the Weaver Fertilizer Plant on North Cherry Street forces an evacuation within one mile of the plant out of concern for a large-scale explosion^[31]

• Winston-Salem history
• List of mayors of Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Forsyth County, North Carolina
• Timelines of other cities in North Carolina: Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Raleigh, Wilmington