The Moravians
The Moravians trace their origins to the great preacher of Bohemia (present day Czech Republic) John Hus, who led one of the significant pre-reformation reform movements in the early 1400’s. Eventually Hus was condemned by the church, declared a heretic, and burned at the stake in 1415.
Hus’s followers, called Hussites, turned Hus’s religious reform movement into political and military revolt against the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire. Though this led to increased independence for the Czech region (Bohemia, Moravia, and Slavakia), it did not lead to the purity of Christian life and doctrine Hus had hoped for. So in 1457 the Hussite “denomination” officially broke from Rome and formed, the “Unitas Fratrum” (Unity of Brethren) which was able to negotiate some recognition from the Catholic Church. It thrived for almost two hundred years throughout the Czech region.
However, the complex war known as the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) resulted in the complete devastation of the Bohemian/Moravian homeland and the end of the organized “Unitas Fratrum.” The Hussites went underground for over a hundred years and suffered many persecutions. Many fled.
Around 1722 some of these “Hussites” or “Moravians” or “Brethren” ended up in acquaintance with a young Christian nobleman named Count Zinzendorf in Dresden in SaxonyGermany. Zinzendorf was moved by their plight, and soon many hundreds of Brethren and other persecuted Christians found refuge on the great estate. There they worshipped together, founded a community called Herrnhutt, and before long they covenanted together to form a new fellowship which came to be known as the “MoravianChurch.”
Moravians left Saxony in great numbers as missionaries to all parts of the world. Many came to the New World for that purpose as well, to do mission work amongst the Indians and white settlers and to develop communities that exemplified their ideals. Their first major settlement was in Pennsylvania and was given the name “Bethlehem.” They also founded Nazareth and Lititz, PA.
But Pennsylvania had become the destination of choice for many immigrants – German (Lutheran, German Reformed, and Moravian) the Presbyterian Ulster Scots, and of course thousands of Quakers, all of whom held in common that they had experienced persecution and trouble in their homeland and were drawn to the opportunity of religious liberty in the new Pennsylvania colony. So popular a destination was it that by the middle of the 18th century land prices had risen greatly and there was simply not enough land left for the steady flow of immigrants.
Meantime vast stretches of inner North Carolina were still unsettled. Although the Lord Proprietors had sold their interest to King George II in 1729, one proprietor, John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, had not. His piece was a 60 mile wide piece of land running from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and lying between North latitudes 36° 30' on the north and 35° 34' on the south, the former being current NC/VA border, the latter running just above Seagrove in Randolph County.
Earl Granville was anxious to populate his territory and approached Bishop Augustus Gottlieb Spangenberg (also known as Brother Joseph) head of the MoravianChurch in Pennsylvania, about the prospect of buying and settling some of Granville’s property. So in 1752 Bishop Spangenberg led a small party via EdentonNC to look over and survey land toward the mountains. After much exploration and many difficult travels Spangenberg decided that the Moravians would purchase just under 100,000 acres of land in or near present day Winston Salem.
This land they named Wachau-the-Aue for “meadowland,” as the land resembled a valley in Austria where many of the Moravians had once lived. Later this was Anglicized to Wachovia.
The next year Brother Joseph led twelve men, all skilled in particular necessary trades, from Bethlehem down the Great Wagon Road to Wachovia, where they laid the foundations of the first settlement there, which they named Bethabara, a Bible name in the King James Bible in John 1:28:
A few years later, in 1759, the need arose for a community dedicated more to farming, and as an additional place where Moravian refugees could find shelter and home. And so the town of Bethania was settled just a few miles to the west of Bethabara.
The new colonies prospered, but neither Bethabara nor Bethania were intended to be the primary towns of the Wachau tract. So, in the mid 1760’s Frederic William Marshall, the business manage (if that is an appropriate word) for the Wachau colony, began searching for a site for the new primary town, closer to the center of the Wachau tract. After looking at and seeking the Lord’s guidance through the drawing of lots, a decision was made to locate the new settlement on a hill above what is present day Salem Creek, near the intersection of present day Business I-40 and Highway 52.
It was decided that this settlement would be primarily for artisans and tradesmen. Soon a road was built from Bathabara to the new Community, and ground was broken on the first structures in January of 1766. The town was given the name “Salem,” the Hebrew word for “peace” or as it is often transliterated into English, “shalom.”
Salem was very much a planned community with almost every decision overseen by three councils. The town was to prosper and become a major trading center in interior North Carolina well into the 19th century, and, as is well known, merge with the newer town of Winston to form the present day Winston–Salem.
In fact, and this is of interest to us in Guilford County, the prosperity and location of the Moravian community at Salem would play an important role in the founding of High Point, for it was at the intersection of the new North Carolina Railroad and the plank road running from Fayetteville to Salem that High Point would be founded!
Old Salem remains one of the most fascinating historic sites in the United States. See also 1766salem.
Joel Gillespie, copyright @ 2006
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