| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Bark Shed 1766 |
| |
“...16 of our Brethren, who are to go to Upper Places[?] to peel bark for our tanner, had lovefeast.”
Single Brethren's Diary
April 16, 1757
The large forest located north of early Bethlehem contained great quantities of bark needed to produce the tannic acid used in tanning leather. While colonial tanners preferred black oak and hemlock bark, records show that the Moravians used mostly oak which gave the leather its distinctive reddish-brown color.
The . . . — Map (db m26923) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Bell House First Seminary for Girls |
| | An early Germanic type of building; erected in 1745. Used first as the Family House. Girls' School, 1749. Bell, still in use, was cast in Bethlehem. Turret had first town clock, 1746. Weathervane is the church seal in metal.
—————
First Seminary
for Girls
Erected A.D. 1745.
Used as a
School,
1746 - 1791. — Map (db m27109) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Brethren's House |
| | Built 1748 by Moravians as house for single men. Early industry center: bell foundry, silkworm culture, other crafts and trades. Military hospital in Revolution. Girls' school from 1815. Now part of Moravian College and a museum. — Map (db m26904) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Butchery 1756 |
| |
Newly slaughtered cattle provided fresh, or “green,” hides for the tanner to process into leather. The tannery stood directly to the south, or left; of the butchery so that these two industries could work together in Bethlehem.
Colonial travelers reported that the Moravians had one of the largest cattle-raising operations in Pennsylvania. The cattle provided meat for food and hides for leather, while the hair, horns, hoofs, and other parts were used to make . . . — Map (db m26927) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Central Moravian Church A Landmark of American Music |
| | The annual festivals of the Bach Choir
of Bethlehem were initiated on
March 27, 1900 by the first American
performance of the “Mass in B Minor”
of Johann Sebastian Bach. — Map (db m27140) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Colonial Industrial Quarter 1741 - 1800 |
| |
“They have carried the mechanical Arts to greater Perfection here than in any Place which I have seen.”
John Adams to Abigail Adams
April, 1777
Early Industrial History
By 1745, only four years after they founded Bethlehem (1741), the Moravians, a modern Protestant religious group from Germany, had established 35 different crafts, trades, and industries in their community. Many of these industries were located here along the Monocacy Creek, an area now called the . . . — Map (db m26917) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Continental Army Honored Dead |
| |
In memory
of the soldiers of the
Continental Army
who suffered and died in this
building used as a military hospital
from
Dec. 1776 to April 1777 and
Sept. 1777 to April 1778 — Map (db m27115) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Dye House 1771 |
| | “Br. Schenk began erection of new dye shop.”
Single Brethren's Diary
June 27, 1771
Early Bethlehem's dyers used natural materials such as indigo (blue), madder (red), logwood (purple), and fustic (yellow) to add color to linen, wool, cotton, and silk cloth and thread.
The first dye house opened in 1746 and was built along the grist mill tailrace. In 1752, a second dye house was built as an addition to the west side of the grist mill-fulling mill . . . — Map (db m27068) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Edwin L. Drake |
| | Drilled first oil well in America in 1859 at Titusville, Pa. Lived at Bethlehem in this house for last seven years of his life, 1873-1880. In 1902 his remains were moved from Bethlehem to memorial monument erected at Titusville. — Map (db m26836) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — First Bethlehem Pharmacy |
| | First Bethlehem
Pharmacy,
In Clergy House
1743 - 1752
Established at this
stand,
1752. — Map (db m27154) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Gemein Haus (Clergy House) |
| | Erected in 1741
The first house of worship in
Bethlehem
Home for the clergy among whom were
Zinzendorf - Spangenberg
Nitschmann - Ettwein - Seidel
Scene of the Great Wedding July 15, 1749
Place of the only school for the teaching
of Indian languages
The Treaty of Friendship between the
Nanticoke and Shawnee Indians and
the Moravian Brethren was made in
the Saal in 1752
Many notable conferences both in Colonial
and Revolutionary periods were held
in the . . . — Map (db m27144) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Gemeinhaus (Clergy House) |
| | Erected in 1741. First place of worship in Bethlehem was on the second floor. Count von Zinzendorf had quarters here, 1742. Place of many notable conferences in the Colonial and Revolutionary periods.
—————
Clergy House
Erected A.D. 1741.
The
Second House of
Bethlehem,
and the first
place of worship. — Map (db m27138) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Heckwelder House |
| | One-half block south, stands the home of John Heckewelder, famed Indian missionary and interpreter, author of works on American Indians. House was erected in 1810. — Map (db m27192) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Horsfield House |
| | Built A.D. 1749.
First store in the
Lehigh Valley
Opened A.D. 1753
in the west end of this
house.
Torn down A.D. 1879. — Map (db m27193) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — John Frederick Wolle (1863 - 1933) |
| | Organist, composer, and conductor. A major interpreter of J.S. Bach's music. He founded the Bethlehem Bach Festival and conducted the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, 1898-1905 and 1911-1932. Wolle was born and raised here in Main Hall. — Map (db m27164) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Lafayette |
| | Here stood the George Frederick Beckel house, 1762-1872, famed as the place where General Lafayette convalesced from a leg wound suffered at the Battle of Brandywine, 1777. Beckel was then superintendent of the community farm here in Bethlehem. — Map (db m26877) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Luckenbach Mill 1869 |
| | The high quality flour produced by the Luckenbach Mill was obtained from grain grown in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, and other parts of the mid-west. After processing in Bethlehem, the flour was marketed throughout the Lehigh Valley and the coal regions to the north.
The current Luckenbach Mill was built in 1869 and is the third grist mill to occupy this location.
In 1743, the Moravians built their first grist mill to grind grain into flour. A second mill, built in . . . — Map (db m27069) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Miller's House 1782 / 1834 |
| | “Last night about 11 o-clock the alarm of fire was heard in our streets...It was occasioned by the discovery of fire in the old Bethlehem Mill,...A narrow escape of a sick lady was among the serious events of this memorable night...”
Bethlehem Daily Times
January 28, 1869
Prior to the early 1780s, the grist miller lived in rooms in the grist mill. In 1782, the Moravian Congregation authorized the building of a separate house (limestone portion). It contained a . . . — Map (db m27075) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Moravian Community |
| | Community organized June 25, 1742. The oldest buildings are on West Church Street. Those marked are; Gemeinhaus, Sisters' House, Bell House, Brothers' House, and Old Chapel. — Map (db m26907) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Oil Mill 1765 |
| | “Notice is hereby given to the Public, that the new oil Mill at Bethlehem for rubbing Hemp will be a going before Christmas. But the new Oil Mill will not be finished till the Latter end of Januario or in Febr. next year 1766...”
Oil Mill Diary
December 12, 1765
Linseed oil was an important 18th century product. It was used in paint, wood preservatives, printing ink, and medicines. Bethlehem's first oil mill was built in 1745. It was replaced in 1752 with a larger . . . — Map (db m27080) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Old Chapel |
| | The second place of worship, 1751-1806. Here many noted persons of the American Revolution heard early Moravian music and the Gospel. Prominent clergy were Bishops Nitschmann, Spangenberg, de Watteville, and Ettwein. — Map (db m27165) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Old Waterworks |
| | As early as 1754, water was pumped from a spring to a water tower, that stood east of here, through hollowed trunks of trees. It then flowed by gravity to five cisterns or reservoirs. Original engine house stands about 60 yds. S.W. — Map (db m27146) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Pottery |
| |
“Today we made the beginning in the ground breaking for our new potter's house, which will be built toward the Monocacy, westward from the Gemein and Choir Houses, in such a way that a row of still needed shops can be added later in a row...”
Bethlehem Diary
July 30, 17xx?
The potter was one of early Bethlehem's most important craftsmen. He made cups, plates, bowls, and other necessities for everyday life out of red clay. His skills also supplied roof tiles . . . — Map (db m26919) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Pulaski's Banner |
| | While Pulaski guarded this area in 1778, the Moravian women made a banner which his cavalry bore until he died at the Siege of Savannah in 1779. The banner was later immortalized in a poem by Longfellow. — Map (db m27195) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Restoration of the Nain-Schober House 429 Heckewelder Place |
| | This is the last remaining home from the American Indian mission village of Nain which existed from 1758-1765 in the vicinity of 12th and 13th Avenues in West Bethlehem. The house was originally built around 1758 by Moravian missionaries with help from American Indians. It was a log structure with a wood-shingled roof. In 1765 the home was sold to Andreas Schober, a Bethlehem Moravian, who moved the house up the street to the southwest corner of W. Market Street and Heckewelder Place. In 1906 . . . — Map (db m27194) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Sisters' House |
| | Built in 1744. Brothers' House until 1748. Here unmarried sisters plied many of the arts and crafts for women. In 1778, Pulaski's banner was made by them.
—————
Erected A.D. 1742.
Prior to 1748 used as a
Brethren's
House.
—————
This wing was
erected
in 1751 and 1752.
—————
This wing was
erected
in 1773. — Map (db m27159) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Smith Complex 1750 - 1761 |
| |
“...The houses of the congregation were well built, and there were all sorts of manufacturing establishments there...There were good carpenters, cabinet-makers, steel-workers, and very good blacksmiths...”
Baroness von Riedesel's Journal
September, 1799
The craftsmen who worked in metal held important jobs in the Bethlehem community. The blacksmith made and mended tools, hardware, mill and agricultural machinery, wagon parts, and horseshoes. The nailsmith made . . . — Map (db m26918) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Springhouse 1764 |
| | In 1747, the Moravians fenced in the spring to keep out domestic animals and fowl. Early recoreds also state that one a year, two men were assigned to clean the spring “by the light of the moon.”
A bountiful spring was one of the reasons why in 1741, the Moravians chose to settle where the Monocacy Creek jointed the Lehigh River. The spring flowed at the rate of more than 1 million gallons of potable water per day and it never dried up or froze over.
Over the years, . . . — Map (db m27102) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Sun Inn |
| | Erection begun, 1758; enlarged and altered in 19th century. Considered one of the best inns of its time. Here many notable patriots and military leaders of the Revolutionary War period were entertained. — Map (db m26878) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Tawery 1768 |
| | In the early years of Bethlehem, the tawer processed sheepskins almost exclusively. However, after the 1760s, inventories indicate that deerskins became the primary source of leather for the tawing industry.
The tawer used sheepskins and deerskins to make soft, pliable leather for goods such as bookbindings, fine upholstery, gloves, pocketbooks, and knee breeches. This leather was white, buff, or light tan in color, in contrast to the red-colored, thicker leather produced in . . . — Map (db m27103) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — The Old Chapel |
| | Before and during the American Revolution many noted patriots worshiped here, including George Washington, Martha Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Count Casimir Pulaski and the Marquis de Lafayette.
In 1792 fifty-one chiefs and warriors from the Iroquois Confederacy visited this chapel. Among the chiefs were Sagoyewatha (Red Jacket) and Gyantwakia (Cornplanter). Bishop John Ettwein greeted them, and girls from the Moravian Seminary for Young Ladies read . . . — Map (db m27189) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — Waterworks 1762 |
| | “They have a Sett of Pumps which go by Water, which force the water up through leaden Pipes, from the River to the Top of the Hill, near an hundred feet.”
John Adams to Abigail Adams
1777
A bountiful spring supplied Bethlehem's water needs from 1741 to 1912. At first the Moravians carted this springwater in buckets and wagons up the hillside to the residential area of the town.
In 1754, millwright Hans Christoph Christensen designed and experimented with a . . . — Map (db m27191) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Bethlehem — West Hall 1859 |
| | Built as an additional dormitory five
years after Main Hall during a period
of rapid expansion. Now occupied by
the Moravian College Music Department. — Map (db m27163) |
| Pennsylvania (Northampton County), Portland — Edward Marshall |
| | Measurer of the notorious Walking Purchase, 1737, lived in this area, 1755-1759. In the many Indian raids of this time, his wife and his oldest son were killed, 1757, suposedly in revenge. Later he returned to Bucks County. — Map (db m31) |
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