The Moravian Historical Society: Home










About the Moravian Historical Society

Location: 214 E. Center St., Nazareth, PA 18064

Phone: 610-759-5070

Fax: 610-759-2461

Museum Hours: 1:00-4:00pm Mon.-Fri.

Whitefield Office hours: 9:00am-5:00pm Mon.-Fri.

Contact:

One of the oldest historical societies in Pennsylvania, the Moravian Historical Society was established in 1857 to preserve the history of the Moravian Church. The Protestant denomination was undergoing a major change at the time, transforming several "closed" communities in which only members of the church could live to "open" communities. The founding members wished to preserve the church's history and customs which they feared might be forgotten.

The new society was offered a room in the 1740 Whitefield House, one of the oldest Moravian buildings erected in America, as a place to store and use the documents, books, and artifacts which they were collecting. In 1871 the society was given the use of the entire second floor of the Whitefield House, and that became the permanent home of the society and its museum. The second floor of the building has thus been a museum for over 125 years.

In 1978 the society acquired the entire Whitefield House, the nearby Gray Cottage, built of logs in 1740, and the surrounding land known as the Ephrata Tract.  The Moravian Historical Society now owns and maintains the historic property, the oldest existing Moravian site in North America.

In 2000, the society acquired the 1820 Kern House.

Read more about the Society in The Morning Call Archive, which contains articles written by the The Morning Call newspaper about the activities of the Society over the past 20 years.


Staff

Executive Director
Wendy S. Weida  [ ]

Administrative Assistant
Ann Weisel  [ ]


Officers and Board of Managers

President
The Rev. Dr. David A. Schattschneider

Vice President
Mrs. Barbara Dietterich

Secretary
Mr. Joshua Fink

Treasurer
The Rev. Dennis Rohn

Board of Managers
Mr. Stephen E. Cunningham
Mr. David Freeman
Ms. Linda Shay Gardner
Ms. Lynn Klein
Ms. Mollie Santee
Mr. Gerald Still
Mr. Peter Wolle
Mr. Jeffrey Long

Honorary Board Members
Rev. Charles W. Eichman
Mrs. Jean K. Haupt
Mrs. Evelyn Huth
Mr. Frederick Koehler

Committees

Development Committee:
Steve Cunningham
Linda Crook
Barbara Dietterich
Linda Shay Gardner
Lynn Klein

Education Committee:
Barbara Dietterich
Sarah Hriniak
Jack Hommer

Executive Committee:
David Schattschneider, President
Barbara Dietterich, Vice-President
Joshua Fink, Secretary
Dennis Rohn, Treasurer

Finance Committee:
Sandra Gaspar
Dennis Rohn

Historic Sites and Monuments Committee:
David Freeman

Library and Museum Committee:
Barbara Dietterich
Jack Hommer
Anne Howlett
Jane Marshall
Erika Still
Emma Williams

Maintenance and Grounds Committee:
Peter Wolle

Personnel Committee:
Lou Dishong
Joshua Fink
Mollie Santee
Jerry Still

Publications Committee:
Lou Dishong
David Freeman
Thurman Kremser
Paul Peucker
David Schattschneider