Borders Done Well

The 18th century Moravians of Pennsylvania and North Carolina accomplished a noble goal. That being the maintenance of their spiritual, ethnic, artistic, and intellectual boundaries, borders - without alienating themselves from communities outside the Moravian orbit.  

Men Only

As the Bethlehem, PA, Moravians pondered establishing the Wachovia (their 100,000 acres in NC) they recognized the dangers of clearing a wilderness. For that reason they did not wish women to be involved in phase one. They sought men that were experienced in wilderness living.

This meant that the Wachovia's population was entirely male from 1773 -1775. *

*Thorp, Moravian Community

Recovering the Moravian past is key to the Moravian future.

The Gemeinhaus at Bethabara

Bethlehem and Salem were notable congregation towns. The practice of life in general and the faith in the congregational towns was parochial, stringent, and well documented. Both Bethlehem and (Old) Salem are living history experiences.  Thus most people today think of the Moravians of old in those terms.

The reality is that in the Wachovia (the 100,000 acres of Moravian land in North Carolina) 50 percent of the Moravian population lived outside the congregational towns. The largest settlement of Moravians up to the War Between The States was not Salem but Friedberg, NC. 

Why Move The Family To Live Among The 18th Century Moravians?

Why would a New England family uproot in the middle of the 18th century to live near a congregation of the Moravians in North Carolina? 

In 1767 the parents of Catharine Rominger moved to the Wachovia, i.e. the 100,000 acres in North Carolina purchased by the Moravians. It is recorded why they moved: 

"they were ... "desirous of seeking the salvation of their souls and mindful of the everlasting happiness of their children." 

That among other things is loud testimony of the impact the early Moravians made for Christ and His Kingdom. 

A New Life for the Moravians in North Carolina

On October 8, 1753, twelve men left the Moravian congregation town of Bethlehem, PA to establish a foothold in the Carolinas The average age of the twelve men was 33 years of age. 

They arrived in the Wachovia, the 100,000 acres the Moravians owned in NC on November 17, 1753. After cutting a path of two and one half miles they settled in an abandoned cabin. Within hours of their arrival they held a simple Moravian lovefeast to give thanks to the Lord for their safe arrival. 

A hymn compose for the occasion, by one of the brethren, was sung:

We hold arrival lovefeast here,

In Carolina land,

A company of Brethren true,

A little pilgrim band,

Called by the Lord to be of those

Who through the whole wide world do go,

To bear Him witness everywhere,

And naught but Jesus know. 

The Moravians from ancient times to the present have a “Watchword” or devotional Bible text for every day of the year. The texts are drawn, even in the 21st century, by lot every year. The text for the day of their arrival was Revelation. 2:13, which appropriately reads: “I know where thou dwellest.”

Indeed He knows where you and I dwell. What good news!

This is not a Tall Tale

In Moravian circles it is said that Count Zinzendorf died as a result of a decision that was made in Bethany, North Carolina.  It is not a tall tale.

Bethabara, North Carolina, was the first Moravian settlement in the Wachovia (1753). All of the residents were Moravians - no exceptions.  

Bethania was the second Moravian settlement (1759). Into this village the Moravian bishop, August Gottlieb Spangenberg (b. 1704) permitted non-Moravians to settle.  

Eight Moravian families were selected to move from Bethabara to Bethania - three miles away. The bishop augmented that number with eight non-Moravian families. 

It took more than a year for this news to cross the Atlantic and land on the desk of Count Zinzendorf in Saxony. 

The Count was not happy - not at all! He vented! The scribe that took down the venting noted, “those who heard his words will never forget them in their whole life long.”

In the Diary for May 3, 1760 are recorded some of the Count's words. He said, “It is against our plan to mix ourselves with people who we do not know. It must absolutely and to eternity not happen that Brethren and stranger people build a settlement where they are going to live together.”

Six days later - the Count was dead. Bethania lives on.

There are a number of implications to this narrative. Do any jump out of you?

“What’s in a name anyway?”

In our culture a name is at its core almost meaningless. Reality is that buried in a name there is meaning. Consider …

The primary portion of land, 1000 acres in all, purchased by the Moravians in the mid-18th century was named “Wachovia”. It was thus named because the terrain reminded Bishop Spangenberg and company of the “Wachau” in Austria. 

The word “Wachau”, literally means “meadow along the Wach,” which is the prime spring in that area of Austria. 

This explains why the Moravians later named the principal stream in the center of their land - the “Wach”. Today that stream is called “Salem Creek.”

The naming of the Wachovia was important on many levels. That it was a reminder of home before they immigrated was important to these brave and hearty souls that left all behind. 

"Sanding in the light of the tallow dip" - A Moravian Quote

History, to be really true, needs to take account of many things. My field has been limited, but I have lived with the

men of Wachovia in its Colonial and Revolutionary days (I sometimes really do feel as though I knew them personally!), and I have come to see that the first thing is not to judge men or actions by the standard of today, but to mentally stand in their shoes and see things as they saw them, not to call this or that right or wrong according to our judgment, but according to the light and the standard that they had when they had to face the circumstances of their lives.

So many would-be historians fail in this respect. They judge by their own standards, not by the light of the tallow dip! Or they draw their conclusions first and then start out to find history to prove them right.

— Adelaide Lisetta Fries
Archivist of the Moravian Church, 1911-49