On November 17, 1753, fifteen hardy Pennsylvanian members of the Moravian denomination arrived in Wachovia. Finding an abandoned log hut, they decided to make the land between two converging creeks, their home. Bethabara, the "House of Passage" was founded 266 years ago.
Historic Bethabara is now a park operated by the city of Winston-Salem and is often overshadowed by folks who find their Moravian History in the restored village of Salem. Bethabara is located off Silas Creek Parkway. There are many great historic structures, trails and a welcome center. On November 16, 2019, Founders Day was celebrated and the Fat Bald White Guy and his Faithful Hiking Companion took it in and learned some history too!
The Village was sprinkled with exhibits and historic interpreters detailing the life in the first settlement of Moravians in North Carolina. Bethabara was a trading village, a place of refuge and a religious community. It was a haven of civilization in the middle of the backwoods wilderness.
A blacksmith was making nails, a cooper was making barrels, ladies were dying cloth, a carpenter was operating a foot-powered lathe and cider was being brewed. But by far the most interesting exhibit was the period correct food that was being cooked at the Founders' Cabin.
The process of making barrels and buckets was important to the village. Moravians brewed their own beer and cider. In addition, settlers from the backwoods came to Bethabara and often left with goods grown and made there. Craftsmen were essential to this endeavor. Crafting wood to make barrels without glue, using only metal stays to seal the joints was an art demonstrated nicely.
Whether it was firing up a kettle to dye cloth or firing up a kettle to brew cider, everyone in Bethabara had a job. It became a working farm and trading center. Backwoods Scots/Irish found their German neighbors quite pious but their talents as craftsmen were unmatched.
Moravian settlers made a life centered around their religious beliefs. The center of the community was the Gemienhaus. It was the gathering place for worship and prayer. The current structure built in 1788, was the second such building constructed. It was used by the Bethabara Moravian Church until 1953.
"Gemeinhaus" was a descriptive term for their community center. In German, the word means "house of fellowship". The 1788 structure featured a sanctuary, pastor's living quarters, a production kitchen and school room. It is remarkably preserved with many period antique original pieces of furniture.
The kitchen was floored with large slabs of granite quarried from the nearby Yadkin River. The purpose of the rock floor was to insure fire safety of the building since the main feature of the kitchen was a large working hearth and oven.
A dining room was also used a classroom. Education was essential for Moravians as their beliefs centered around the idea that each person should read the Bible and be led by the principles learned therein. Both boys and girls alike received education. In fact, the Moravians started the first school for girls in the colonies which is now Salem College.
Leaving the Gemeinhaus, we ventured into the palisades. These wooden walls were erected during the French and Indian War and for that time protected the Moravians and fellow settlers from violent uprisings by the Cherokees. Bethabara was a place of refuge during this time. Near the community bell we met Sister Samantha who offered to guide our tour to God's Acre, the graveyard of Bethabara Moravians to this day.
"If we live, we live unto the Lord, and if we die, we die unto the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's" This central tenet of the Moravian theology made God's Acre an important place in a Moravian Community. There are the graves of departed brethren and sisters who are now in the more immediate presence of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Graves date to the middle 1750's to the present day. Sister Samantha is a graduate student at UNC-G hoping to be a teacher one day soon. She taught me that "Minorcras" is the name of the hill where God's acre is located in Herrnhut Germany, the ancestral home of Moravians. Thus, the hill overlooking Bethabara became "Minorcras" and their God's Acre.
In Adelaide Fries book, "The Road to Salem", the feature character is Anna Catherina who was married to H. Martin Kalberlan, one of the first settlers of Bethabara. Dr. Kalberlan was the first physician in the backwoods of North Carolina. He treated not only the Moravian settlers, but was sought for his talents by early settlers of the region. His legacy is preserved not only in God's acre but in the recreation of his medicinal herb garden at Bethabara.
Just outside the palisades in the corner of the park is the Founders' Village. A reconstructed log village featuring the interpretation of the place where the Founders began the
construction of Bethabara.There we found Sister Ruth and Brother Frans Verbunt who recently baked pies made from 18th century recipes!
Brother Frans told me that health regulations prohibited him offering me a taste of any of his food...but he would not prosecute if anyone stole a bite or two!...and I can attest that the ginger cake and the cherry pie certainly were victims of a recent theft...the suspect being a Fat Bald White Guy! His beef stew and chicken noodle soup were not touched only for want of a bowl and a spoon!
Historic Bethabara Park is a great place to visit. It is a hidden gem in Winston-Salem. I featured the hiking trails in another blog a few years back. Check that out for a trail review, but make Founders Day Celebration one your things to do in 2020!
Fifteen men, 266 years ago, huddled in an abandoned log hut in the middle of a North Carolina wilderness changed history in this region. Most do not know their names but this community is a legacy to their determination and vision.
That first night, cold, tired, hungry, they knelt in prayer and offered songs in worship and praise...
We hold arrival lovefeast here
In Carolina land
A company of Brethren
A little pilgrim band
Called by the Lord to be of those
Who through the whole world go
To tell of Jesus everywhere
And naught but Jesus know
Brother B.H. Grube
Nov. 17, 1753
