Wachovia isn't only an annoying bank based in
North Carolina. It is the name of the first
Moravian settlement in North Carolina, near what is now
Winston-Salem. Pronounce it wah-KO-vee-yah. It's an
Anglicized form of the German "Wachau," the name of a lush green region along the
Danube River which the settlers felt the land resembled.
In 1752 a group of Moravians from the Christiansbrunn Agricultural Settlement in Pennsylvania purchased about 100,000 acres in middle/western North Carolina, land later known as the Wachovia Tract. Settlement started in 1753 with only 11 men, but eventually the thriving community of Salem was founded and grew quite prosperous. In fact, much of it is still there or has been recreated in the form of Old Salem (www.oldsalem.org) a living museum designed to allow people to experience pioneer life first-hand.
Eventually the agriculture in the area turned to growing tobacco as a cash crop and thus were Salem cigarettes born.