by Sharron K. Brace

Old Salem Museum and Gardens, the 18th-century restored Moravian village in Winston-Salem, N.C., boasts more than 90 restored buildings and museums and attracts about 100,000 visitors each year.

Also worth a visit is Historic Bethabara Park, just six miles away. A lesser-known gem, Bethabara also was settled by members of the Moravian Church, a Protestant faith with roots in Germany and the current Czech Republic.

The park is the site of the first Moravian settlement in Winston-Salem. Fifteen single men arrived at the site on foot from Bethlehem, Pa., in November 1753. The church, seeking to expand, had purchased 100,000 acres in Piedmont North Carolina for 35 cents an acre. Almost two years later, seven married couples, 10 single men and five wagon drivers joined the community.

From the beginning, the settlement was intended as a temporary location until a central village could be built. Indeed, Bethabara means “House of Passage.”
Bethabara grew and thrived for more than a decade, despite hardships and illness.

By the mid-1760s, attention turned to Salem, which had become the center of trade and religious life for the Moravian community. Bethabara began to decline, and by the 1900s, its history was all but forgotten. In the 1960s, painstaking restoration of the settlement began.

The Visitor Center and Museum at Bethabara displays a time line of Moravian history, artifacts of the era and a short film. Knowledgeable period-costumed guides staff the center and lead tours.

Staff members are willing to look in available church records for lost ancestors and are able to suggest other Moravian settlements to search if they are unable to find the person. There is also a gift shop.

Buildings and Graveyards
In addition to the Visitor Center and Museum, the site includes three Moravian buildings, two early colonial graveyards, and foundations of 40 homes and businesses that were excavated in the early 1960s. A 1756 palisade fort, 1754 village, and community and medical gardens have been reconstructed after archaeologists identified these structures from historic maps and diaries kept by the early settlers.

Informative signs with  the date the building was originally constructed, the use of the structure, and in some cases, interesting quotations from the diaries of the early settlers clearly mark each structure.

Bethabara was a center for trade as far away as Charleston, S.C., and
the Bethabara diary shows that settlers came from miles around for medical
care and to buy goods from the village; families also came to the village when they feared for their safety because of Indians or robbers.

A pottery that made mugs, vessels, stove tiles, and tobacco pipes; a tavern that provided overnight accommodations for travelers; a bakery and flour bin; apothecary shop; a doctor's laboratory; a tannery; and a locksmith and gunsmith shop were among the businesses in the village.

There was also a barrel-maker, a tailor, a shoemaker, a mill and vineyards; the Moravians made wine for their own use and for export to Pennsylvania. On May 21, 1770, an entry in the Bethabara Diary stated:  "There was an unusual concourse of visitors, some coming 60 or 80 miles to buy milk crocks in our pottery. They bought the entire stock, not one piece was left; many could only get half what they wanted, and others who came late, could find none."

Other Settlements
The village also served as administrative headquarters for other Moravian
settlements in the area until 1771-72 when the headquarters transferred to
nearby Salem.

A guided tour highlights the restored 1788 Gemeinhaus or German church with attached living quarters for the minister and his family - the only one remaining in the United States. An organ with the black and white keys reversed because of the cost of ivory, stoves made of Moravian tiles, and an 18th-century artificial Christmas tree are among the interesting furnishings.

The artificial Christmas tree was a wooden pyramid with a shelf. During the holidays the form was covered with evergreen boughs and a crèche was placed on the shelf. The guides point out interesting architectural features along with information on Moravian history and culture.

A 175-acre wildlife preserve and hiking trails complete the site. Grounds, gardens, and trails are open all day, all year, and are free. Buildings are open April through November, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $2 for adults, $1 for children. A museum shop offers handcrafted items such as baskets, pottery and tinware.
The park is located at 2147 Bethabara Road, Winston-Salem.