`Historic Bethabara

The historic town of Bethabara is located in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Bethabara is the birthplace of Winston Salem. It is the first European settlement in the Peidmont Triad of North Carolina. The 83 acres park offers free events for the community, a wildlife preserve, 10 miles of trails, centuries old buildings, reconstructed colonial village, historical gardens, and the Geminhaus Church which is the oldest standing church with a residence attached in the United States. The Historic town offers affordable $4 tours of the Gemeihaus, and Log house. Visitors are welcome to walk the grounds between dawn and dusk and the tours are available during hours of operation. Visitor center house are Tuesday - Saturday 10:30am -4:30pm, Sunday 1:30am -4:30pm closed on Mondays. Phone # 336-924-8191. 

      The town of Bethabara was founded by eleven Moravians left their homes of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania over 520 miles north. They were given land from Lord Granville who bought land in North Carolina, the settlement that is now known as Bethabara was for refugees who were escaping persecution in Europe.

         The Moravian Church was originated in the Kingdom of Bohemia (Czech Republic) from the reformer Jan Hus in the early 1400s. Hus believed that everyone should be able to read and understand the Bible, he preached in Bohemian language rather than Latin. He grew the following over to 200,000 He and the Roman Holy Church disagreed on practices and teachings. He was later burned on the stake. After his death in 1415 his teaching spread north reaching countries such as Lithuania and Poland. During the early 1600s the Holy Roman Chruch’s Counter- Reformation thousands of Brethren (followers of Moravians faith) were killed or expelled from Bohemia. Those who survived practiced in secret. Again, in the 1700s the Moravians where more attacks and fled. After hearing of the history of the Moravians Earl of Granville approached the Church about a land deal that would free them from persecution.

         Historical Bethabara is a great place to take children for a day trip, field trip or just take a stroll and learn about local history. The site displays great information about different jobs townspeople held during colony era to keep the town functioning. Each person in the town had a job to fulfill.  It reconstructed buildings to give visitors a better understand of what the town was like during certain time periods, especially the French and Indian War. It shows ruins of the old houses and who lived in each house. It is interesting to see how some parts of the houses still stand while others are not. The brick laying is outstanding to see even without modern technology and tools made from the Blacksmith they were about to create shelter. As the population grew and more strangers passed through the town, Bethabara and neighboring town of Salem worked together to create the framework of what will later be Winston Salem, North Carolina.

“ Moravin Colonization of Wachovia, 1753-1772: The Maintenance of Community in Late Colonial North Carolina,” by Daniel Thorp 

The Moravian. Community in Colonial North Carolina: Pluralism on the Southern Frontier, By Daniel Thorp 

Records of the Moravian in North Carolina, Volume 1-7, Translated by Adelaide Fries 

Villages of the Lord: The Moravians Come to North Carolina, by Daniel C. Crews 

A Separate Canaan: The Making of an Afro Moravian World in North Carolina, 1762-1840, by Jon Sensbach

Photo