Home Moravian Church is a part of the worldwide Christian fellowship known as the Unity of the Brethren (Unitas Fratrum) which was founded in 1457. If you are interested in Moravian history prior to the establishment of the Wachovia tract and the Salem congregation, more information may be found at www.moravian.org. Our local beginnings can be traced to an offer that the church leaders, in Europe, received in the 1750's.
On November 29, 1751 a conference of the leaders of the Moravian Church met in London to consider an offer from John Carteret, the Earl of Granville. The Earl had offered to sell the church up to 100,000 acres of his land in the Colony of North Carolina. Under the leadership of Count Zinzendorf they decided to accept the Earl's offer. On August 25, 1752 a party of six Brethren, under the leadership of Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg, left Pennsylvania bound for Edenton in Carolina. In Edenton they met with the Earl's agent, Francis Corbin, and made arrangements to seek the land the church would buy.
On September 18, 1752 the Brethren, along with William Churton, Granville's chief surveyor, left Edenton bound for the Carolina interior. Along the way they were joined by three local men who were hired as guides and assistants. For three months the party searched for suitable land. They went as far west as the mountains near what today is Boone. By mid December they turned east and followed the Yadkin river. They surveyed some parcels of land near the present day town of Wilkesboro, known as Mulberry Fields, but they were not satisfied. They pressed on eastward until, by the end of December, they had reached the three forks of the Muddy Creek, in what is today Forsyth County. They began the survey of this "Muddy Creek Land" on December 27, 1752 and completed it on January 13, 1753. In all they surveyed 98,985 acres. Bishop Spangenberg was convinced that this land had been reserved for the Brethren by the Lord. The Brethren departed for Bethlehem, arriving on February 12, 1753.
On August 7, 1753, in London, the church purchased the Carolina land. By the Autumn of the same year a group of men had been selected to begin the Carolina settlement. On October 8, 1753 a group of fifteen men departed from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania bound for Wachovia. After a journey of almost six weeks they finally arrived on November 17, 1753. Their first night was spent in an abandoned cabin that had been built a year earlier by a man known as Hans Wagner. Around this cabin the first settlers, and those that joined them later, built the first town, known as Bethabara.
As the years passed, the town of Bethabara continued to grow. In June of 1759 a second Moravian town was established. This town, known as Bethania, was located to the north of Bethabara. But, Bethabara was never intended to be the main town of the Wachovia settlement. From the beginning the church leaders had envisioned a town located in the center of the tract. By 1764 word was sent to the residents of Wachovia that the time to build the central town had come. Later that same year scouting parties, under the leadership of Fredrick William Marshall, began searching for suitable locations for the new town, which was to be called Salem. Several suitable sites were found. One by one the sites were presented to the Lord, through the drawing of the lot, for His approval. But, one by one the answer was no. On February 14, 1765 a site was presented to the Lord for His approval. This site was located on one of the hills above the Wach, one of the three forks of the Muddy Creek. This time the lot was drawn and the Lord's answer was yes. The daily text for that day gave the brethren an assurance that this indeed was the Lord's will. The text was from I Kings 8:29, "Let thine eye be opened toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there."
By January of 1766 a road had been built from Bethabara to the place that would become Salem. On Monday, January 6, 1766 the first trees were felled and the town was begun. Once again the daily text assured the brethren that this was the Lord's will. The text for that day was from Isaiah 37:35, "I will defend this city." Over the next five years construction proceeded on the town. Little by little the residents of Bethabara moved to the new town as accommodations became available. By 1771 there were enough people in Salem to organize them into a separate congregation. On November 13, 1771 the Gemein Haus (Congregation House) was consecrated and the Salem Congregation was formed. The Gemein Haus served as the place of worship until 1800 when the Saal (present day sanctuary) was consecrated. The Sanctuary has been in continuous use, except during times of renovation, since 1800.
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Wednesday, December 29, 2004 01:31:47 PM -0500