The Bethaba Historic District was once a small Moravian community located in Forsyth County, North Carolina. It was first settled in 1753 and is now a historical landmark and open air museum.ar
The Husband, daughter and I happened upon this beautiful place one day last year when we were out and about on a day-trip excursion for the Southern Food and Beverage Museum project. When I was thinking about just what to do for my “B” for our Carolinas A to Z post this month, this instantly popped into my head. We had so much fun wandering around the open air museum and exploring the ruins.
The early settlers here were noted for their advanced agricultural practices including an extensive herb and medicine garden. This area promises to be very beautiful in the warmer growing season.
Bethabara is from the Hebrew word meaning “House of Passage” and is also the name of the traditional site of the Baptism of Jesus Christ. This historic village is the site where 15 men from the Moravian Church first settled. They were later joined by other men, women and children. Bethabara was never intended to be a permanent settlement, only really intending to house the Moravians until a more suitable location could be found. That place of course became Salem . When the settlers relocated to Salem, Bethabara was used as a farm to supply the Salem village and other surrounding Moravian villages with food and medicine.
In 1788 Johann Samuel a slave, was named the superintendent of the farm. He became a freed slave in 1801 and continued working in Bethabara, renting the land from the Church. At this time, the village as it had existed was no longer used and fell into disrepair. Many of the original buildings collapsed and the foundations were filled in with dirt to make more area for growing. The Church (Gemeinhaus) and a couple of other buildings continued in regular use.
Today the excavated remains of the village, the restored Gemeinhaus and the gardens are a part of the Historic Bethabara Park. This park covers 183 acres and has become a wildlife preserve and is located in Winston-Salem. It is home to festivals and reenactments and summer archeology programs featuring on-site excavations.
We had such a wonderful time exploring this fascinating place and being the history buff that I am being able to walk around, explore and experience this historically significant place was an amazing experience.
Oooo…I’ve never been here. Definitely will have to visit, now!
You would love it. Very neat!
Are the herb and medicine garden still in use today? That would be an interesting, living piece of history! We are down in SC, but we travel up to the Raleigh area every once in a while, I will add this to our list of places to see. I think the boys would enjoy it, and also learn a little at the same time.
Liene, I think the gardens are in use (other than just as part of the museum grounds). They were definitely growing abundantly when we visited in June. This is definitely a must see location if you are every close to Winston-Salem. Thank you for visiting us today Liene!
Hi Tammie
I found your blog through the UBC group on Facebook.
I have visited the USA quite a few times but have not manged to get to Carolina, you make it sound and look so nice, it makes me want to book a flight today
I love reading about different places and the history of them so thanks for sharing this, I will be abck for more!
Pauline
So glad you visited today Pauline. North And South Carolina are two wonderful States to explore. I hope you do make a trip to visit the States sometime to visit the Carolinas. Thank you for visiting us today and we are happy to have you visit us any time!
What fun. I enjoy learning about the different areas and the history it played in our country.
Me too and I am constantly amazed at all the wonderful history and opportunities there are in North Carolina. Fun place to live and visit. Thank you Shawn for visiting today.
I didn’t know it was Bethabara… I learned that this region was the original Wachovia settlement (which is origin of the bank name, too.)
Thanks for bringing me up to date and reviewing the area I have not visited in some 35 years.
It is really a special place. We had a lot of fun learning about it and exploring the open air museum. Be sure to visit it if you are in the area Roy!
I loved this stroll through aa bit of Carolina history! Thank you!
Thank you Caro. Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for visiting and commenting today.