The former Wachovia (founded in 1879 in Winston, NC) and First Union (founded in 1908 in Charlotte, NC) merged on September 1, 2001, to create Wachovia Corporation. Wachovia (pronounced wa-KO-vee-yah) is the Latin form of the name Wachau, which was given to the tract of land in the Piedmont region of North Carolina settled by Moravians in 1753. The name honored the settlers' connections to the Wachau Valley along the Danube River.