Bethabara Historic District

For the Biblical location where John the Baptist baptized those who came to him, see Bethabara.
Bethabara Historic District
Bethabara Moravian Church in 1934
Location North of Winston-Salem on NC 67, near Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Coordinates 36°9′16″N 80°17′55″W / 36.15444°N 80.29861°WCoordinates: 36°9′16″N 80°17′55″W / 36.15444°N 80.29861°W
Area 41 acres (17 ha)
Built 1753
Governing body Private
NRHP Reference # 78001948
Significant dates
Added to NRHP November 15, 1978[1]
Designated NHLD January 20, 1999[2]

Bethabara Historic District was a small Moravian community located in Forsyth County, North Carolina that was first settled in 1753. It is now a National Historic Landmark and is an open-air museum.

History

Bethabara (from the Hebrew, meaning "House of Passage" and pronounced beth-ab-bra, the name of the traditional site of the Baptism of Jesus Christ) is a village located in Forsyth County, North Carolina. It was the site where fifteen men from the Moravian Church first settled in 1753 in an abandoned cabin in the hundred-thousand acre (400 km²) tract of land the church had purchased from Lord Granville and dubbed Wachovia.

Its early settlers were noted for advanced agricultural practices, especially their medicine Garden, which produced over fifty kinds of herbs.

Although later parties of Moravians joined the first fifteen, including women and children, Bethabara was never meant to be a permanent settlement. It was intended to house the Moravians until a more suitable location for their central village could be found. In 1771, that place was completed: Salem. Many of the settlers moved to Salem, and Bethabara became an outlying farm to supply the residents of Salem and other Moravian villages with food.

In 1788, a slave, Johann Samuel, was named superintendent of the farm; he was freed in 1801, though he continued to rent the land from the church. However, the village of Bethabara, as it existed, was no longer needed, and it fell into disuse. The original buildings collapsed, and their foundations were filled in to make more farm land. Only the Church and a couple of other buildings continued in regular use.

Historic Bethabara Park

Today, what remains of the village, including the excavated foundations of the original buildings, the restored Gemeinhaus, and the reconstructed palisade and colonial gardens, is part of Historic Bethabara Park, which is a National Historic Site serving Forsyth County. The 183-acre (0.74 km2) park and wildlife preserve is located in Winston-Salem and is operated by the City of Winston-Salem Recreation & Parks Department as an open-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 during Independence Day.

Bethabara Moravian Church also known as the Gemeinhaus

It includes the Bethabara Moravian Church, a building individually listed on the National Register. Most of the other early buildings in the settlement are no longer standing although the ruins of many of their foundations are still visible.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1999.[2][3]

The church is located at 2147 Bethabara Road.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Bethabara". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  3. ↑ Mark R. Barnes, John Clauser, William J. Murtagh, Rod Myer, and Michael O. Hartley (June 3, 1998). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Bethabara / Bethabara Historic District" (pdf). National Park Service. and Accompanying 24 photos, from 1995 PDF (32 KB)

External links