Bethlehem in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Burnside Plantation

1748-1848

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, September 28, 2024

1. Burnside Plantation Marker

Inscription.

Burnside Plantation.

“The philosophy of farming has left the lasting and profound mark on our national landscape and it has made an enduring cradle for the things we now accept as Americana. America will always cherish the arts of farm life as mirrored symbols of an inherited philosophy.” – Eric Sloane, Our Vanishing Landscape, 1955

, From Handpower to Horsepower , In the 1700s, most Americans were farmers who worked to supply the needs of their families. Farming was a subsistence business based on the whims of the weather, sweat equity, and the use of tools that had not advanced technologically for hundreds of years. In 1748, when former Moravian missionaries James and Mark Burnside purchased 500 acres just north of Bethlehem to establish a farm, they faced a great deal of hard work. They cleared the land for crops and built a barn, stable, and house out of logs – all no longer standing – and a stone farmhouse still standing today. , Burnside also turned his attention to politics. In 1752, he was elected the first representative to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly in Philadelphia for the newly formed Northampton County. Burnside died in 1755 and three years later Mary sold the farm to the Moravian Congregation. Eventually the property was referred to as Plantation No. 4 in the Moravian farming system which supplied food for Bethlehem. , From 1758 to 1848, tenant farmers ran Burnside Plantation, adopting new technologies available to agriculture and making improvements to the property. In 1841-1842, the Burnside Plantation began its transformation from handpower to horsepower with the construction of a new barn and horsepower shed. , A Farm in the City , By 1848, the Moravian Congregation sold its major landholdings, passing the farm into private ownership. In 1986, citizens recognized the historic importance of the property and asked Lehigh County to purchase the farm. Today, the 6.5-acre Burnside Plantation is part of the Lehigh County Parks System. It is the only farm in the Lehigh Valley within city limits. , [Captions] , . Top left: Burnside Plantation in the 1870s. , . Top right: James Burnside's seal and signature. , . Bottom left: This 1758 Bethlehem map shows the Burnside Plantation's boundaries when Mary Burnside sold the farm to the Moravian Congregation. Collection of the Moravian Archives

“The philosophy of farming has left the lasting and profound mark on our national landscape and it has made an enduring cradle for the things we now accept as Americana. America will always cherish the arts of farm life as mirrored symbols of an inherited philosophy.” – Eric Sloane, Our Vanishing Landscape, 1955

From Handpower to Horsepower
In the 1700s, most Americans were farmers who worked to supply the needs of their families. Farming was a subsistence business based on the whims of the weather, sweat equity, and the use of tools that had not advanced technologically for hundreds of years. In 1748, when former Moravian missionaries James and Mark Burnside purchased 500 acres just north of Bethlehem to establish a farm, they faced a great deal of hard work. They cleared the land for crops and built a barn, stable, and house out of logs – all no longer standing – and a stone farmhouse still standing today.

Burnside also turned his attention to politics. In 1752, he was elected the first representative to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly in Philadelphia for the newly formed Northampton County. Burnside died in

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1755 and three years later Mary sold the farm to the Moravian Congregation. Eventually the property was referred to as Plantation No. 4 in the Moravian farming system which supplied food for Bethlehem.

From 1758 to 1848, tenant farmers ran Burnside Plantation, adopting new technologies available to agriculture and making improvements to the property. In 1841-1842, the Burnside Plantation began its transformation from handpower to horsepower with the construction of a new barn and horsepower shed.

A Farm in the City
By 1848, the Moravian Congregation sold its major landholdings, passing the farm into private ownership. In 1986, citizens recognized the historic importance of the property and asked Lehigh County to purchase the farm. Today, the 6.5-acre Burnside Plantation is part of the Lehigh County Parks System. It is the only farm in the Lehigh Valley within city limits.

[Captions]
• Top left: Burnside Plantation in the 1870s.
• Top right: James Burnside's seal and signature.
• Bottom left: This 1758 Bethlehem map shows the Burnside Plantation's boundaries when Mary Burnside sold the farm to the Moravian Congregation.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, September 28, 2024

2. Burnside Plantation Marker

Collection of the Moravian Archives

Erected by Historic Bethlehem • Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources • Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Agriculture. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1748.

Location. 40° 37.9′ N, 75° 23.361′ W. Marker is in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in Lehigh County. It can be reached from Schoenersville Road 0.2 miles east of Eaton Avenue, on the right when traveling east. Marker is on the Burnside Plantation entrance road, approximately 0.1 mile south of Schoenersville Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1461 Schoenersville Rd, Bethlehem PA 18018, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania and in Lehigh Valley.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what

Burnside Plantation Marker Detail image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, September 28, 2024

3. Burnside Plantation Marker Detail

Map of buildings and sites within Burnside Plantation.

was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: David Tannenberg (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Moravian University Monument Stone (approx. 0.4 miles away); John Amos Comenius / Jan Amos Komensky (approx. 0.4 miles away); Captain Christopher Seifert '97 (approx. 0.4 miles away); Moravian Archives (approx. half a mile away); Monocacy Creek and Johnston Park (approx. ¾ mile away); Sun Inn (approx. 0.8 miles away); The Unknown Soldier (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bethlehem.

Also see . . .
1. Burnside Plantation. This historic 6.5-acre farm-in-the-city, Burnside Plantation, opened doors to early American agricultural life. The property includes a restored 1748/1818 farmhouse, two 1840s bank barns, a large kitchen garden and orchard, a corn crib, and wagon shed. Also, the site includes one of the only remaining working High Horse-Power wheels in the U.S. (Historic Bethlehem) (Submitted on October 16, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

2. Burnside Plantation (PDF).

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National Register of Historic Places nomination for the farm, which was listed in 1990. (Prepared by Rachel B. Osborn; via National Archives) (Submitted on October 16, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 16, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 16, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 366 times since then and 52 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 16, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.