Bethabara Historic District | |
%2c_Old_Town_(Forsyth_County%2c_North_Carolina).jpg) Bethabara Moravian Church in 1934 | |
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| Location | North of Winston-Salem on NC 67, nearWinston-Salem, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 36°9′16″N80°17′55″W / 36.15444°N 80.29861°W /36.15444; -80.29861 |
| Area | 41 acres (17 ha) |
| Built | 1753; 272 years ago (1753) |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001948 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 15, 1978[1] |
| Designated NHLD | January 20, 1999[2] |
Bethabara Historic District encompasses the surviving buildings and archaeological remains of a smallMoravian community, that was first settled in 1753. Located in present-dayForsyth County,North Carolina, it is now a public park of the city ofWinston-Salem. It was designatedNational Historic Landmark in 1999.
Bethabara (from theHebrew, meaning "House of Passage" and pronounced beth-ab-bra, the name of the traditional site of theBaptism ofJesus Christ) was a village located in what is nowForsyth County,North Carolina. It was the site where twelve men from theMoravian Church first settled in 1753 in an abandoned cabin in the 100,000-acre (400 km2) tract of land the church had purchased fromLord Granville and dubbedWachovia.
Its early settlers were noted for advanced agricultural practices, especially their medicine garden, which produced over fifty kinds of herbs.
Bethabara was never meant to be a permanent settlement. It was intended to house the Moravians until a more suitable location for a central village could be found. Just six months after arriving in Wachovia, theSeven Years' War (known as theFrench and Indian War in America) began in western Pennsylvania. The violence quickly spread to southwestern Virginia and western North Carolina. Bethabara hosted a large number of refugees until 1761. The establishment of a central town was delayed for thirteen years because of the growing Moravian population and hundreds of refugees.
Once it was felt safe to do so in 1766, the central townSalem was begun. Many of the buildings in Bethabara were dismantled, and used for the new structures in Salem. As the houses were taken down, the small rootcellars were pushed in and filled.
With Salem completed in 1771, the official seat of government was transferred from Bethabara to Salem. Only a few residents remained behind. Bethabara became a farming community which supplied food to the other Moravians towns in Wachovia.
In 1788, anenslaved person, Johann Samuel, was made superintendent of the farm. He was freed in 1801, after 50 years of servitude to the Moravians. Bethabara continued to decline. The principal industries were farming and pottery, well into the 1850s.
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Today, what remains of the village, including the excavated foundations of the original buildings, the restored Gemeinhaus (theBethabara Moravian Church), and the reconstructedpalisade and colonial gardens, is part of Historic Bethabara Park. The site was excavated by noted historical archaeologistStanley South in the 1960s. The 183-acre (0.74 km2) park and wildlife preserve is located inWinston-Salem and is operated by the City of Winston-Salem Recreation & Parks Department as anopen-air museum. The site also features 20 miles (32 km) of nature trails.
There are frequent festivals and reenactments on the weekends, such as the Independence Weekend Celebration held the weekend prior to or duringIndependence Day.
The Bethabara site was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1999. The Gemeinhaus was separately listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1971.[2][3]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help) andAccompanying 24 photos, from 1995 (32 KB)
