Bethabara

Bethabara was the site of the first Moravian settlement in North Carolina. In 1753, fifteen Moravians traveled down the Great Wagon Road from Pennsylvania to North Carolina and founded a small village, naming it Bethabara, or "house of passage." By the 1760s, it had grown into a bustling industrial trade center. After the completion of Salem, Bethabara's population declined, but it remained an active agricultural community through the 20th century. Following archaeological excavations in the 1960s, Edwin L. Stockton led early efforts to preserve and interpret Bethabara. Today, Bethabara includes a wildlife preserve, historic gardens, trails, centuries-old buildings, a reconstructed French and Indian War palisade and colonial village, and the 1788 Gemeinhaus, the oldest standing church with attached residence in the United States.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina · United States