Tanglewood Arboretum was claimed by Sir Walter Raleigh for Queen Elizabeth on
March 25th, 1584. 

Among the earliest European settlers of the Yadkin River Valley was William Johnson, an immigrant from Wales. In 1757, just four years after the Moravian settlement of the Wachovia Tract, in the nearby communities of Bethabara and Salem, Johnson purchased the mile square portion of the present Tanglewood Park.

Johnson built a fort overlooking the Yadkin River to protect his family and neighbors from attacks during the French and Indian War.  He died in 1765. A simple frame church was built in 1809 next to his grave and remainsas one of the Park’s architectural attractions and a frequented site for weddings.

The Reynolds Family

William Neal Reynolds, president of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company bought the property in 1921. He and his wife, Kate B. Reynolds, renovated and expanded the Manor house to 28 rooms and enlarged their holdings to 1,114 acres.He raised and raced thoroughbred harness horses and established Tanglewood Farm as the home to some of the country’s finest  pacers.   After the Reynolds deaths in 1951, Tanglewood was left to the citizens of Forsyth County for use as a park and playground. The Reynolds left 20,000 shares of RJR stock as a permanent endowment. The board of directors created by the trustees of the 2 estates hired one of the country’s prominent park planners Ellwood Allen, to draw up a master plan. In 1954 the park opened with lakes,trails,campgrounds,picnic areas and the beginnings of the Arboretum.Kate a horticultural enthusiast, began the extensive native and ornamental plantings at Tanglewood and employed German master horticulturist, Mr. Frank Lusting, who continued her plans as his life work.

In the 1970’s the Garden Council of Winston- Salem became actively involved in restoring the Arboretum at Tanglewood Park. In 1981, under the leadership of the Garden Council and the Tanglewood Beautification Committee, landscape architect, Roy Pender, was hired to develop and showcase a plant collection that would thrive in the Forsyth County’senvironmental conditions.

During that era, the Winston Salem Rose Society planted an All American Rose selection garden in front of the Manor House. In 1983 Forsyth County received Tanglewood Park from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. In 2000 Forsyth County invited the Cooperative Extension Service to oversee the maintenance of the Arboretum.