Nazareth: A Walk through Time

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by Susan M. Dreydoppel

ADDITIONAL NAZARETH NOTES

Which Came First, Nazareth or Bethlehem?

Both Nazareth and Bethlehem were settled by the same religious group, the Moravians, in the early 1740s. Which community was settled first, and is therefore older, depends on how the question is worded.

The Moravians arrived at the 5,000-acre "Barony of the Rose," where Nazareth would be built, in May of 1740, and began construction of the stone building which today is called the Whitefield House. By the fall of the year, the building was nowhere near completion, and they erected a hewn log building to join the first one they had hurriedly built when they arrived. By the beginning of 1741, Nazareth consisted of two log structures and an unfinished stone building.

But by that same time, the Moravians knew that they would have to establish their own community elsewhere. The owner of the Nazareth land, George Whitefield, had quarreled with them over a theological matter, and by spring they would have to leave his property. After considering several pieces of land, they settled on one about ten miles south, where the Monocacy Creek meets the Lehigh River. In April, 1741, the Moravians purchased 500 acres, and began to move their belongings from the Nazareth tract south to the new tract. On Christmas Eve, 1741, the settlement of two log structures, one completed and one unfinished, would officially be named Bethlehem.

As the Moravians were establishing their community on this side of the Atlantic, negotiations were taking place in London to purchase the Nazareth property from George Whitefield. It was not until September, 1741, that the Pennsylvania Moravians learned that in addition to the 500-acre Bethlehem tract, they also now owned the much larger Nazareth tract.

The Bethlehem/Nazareth population at the time was too small to settle two communities, so they focused on establishing Bethlehem first. One married couple was assigned to live in Nazareth and guard the property; after several months a different couple would relieve them. Finally at the end of 1743, workers were sent to finish the stone house in preparation for the arrival of a group of settlers, recruited from several of the German Moravian communities to become the new community of Nazareth. In January 1744 the new arrivals walked to their new home in the Whitefield House, and the community of Nazareth was begun.

Nazareth Hall Academy

One block west of Center Square is another historic location, the buildings from the Moravian boys' school, Nazareth Hall Academy. The largest building, parallel to West Center Street, was built as a residence for the Moravian patron Count Zinzendorf in 1755 and 1756. When it seemed that the Count would be forced to leave Germany, it was determined that a suitable home should be built for him in Nazareth, whose deed of purchase conveyed the rights of an English barony. The building is still known as the Manor House.

The building was completed in 1756, and was an immediate tourist attraction. Even without the later addition (now called the "Annex Apartments"), it was the largest building in Colonial America built for a single family, larger than anything in Williamsburg or Boston. The Moravians realized that it was unlikely that Count Zinzendorf would need an American home by that time, and various couples and individuals took up residence in the rooms on the upper floors. The first floor had been reserved for the community's place of worship, replacing the small chapel at the Whitefield House across town.

In 1759 the school for Moravian boys needed a larger home, and it was decided to move the school from Bethlehem to the Manor House in Nazareth. It was a boarding school, and the boys and their teachers both lived and studied together. By 1783 the school became a "pay school," open to the sons of non-Moravians as well as Moravians for a fee. Nazareth Hall continued at this location until the school was closed in 1929.

The other buildings around the quadrangle were also associated with the boys' school. The so-called 1840 church is closest to Center Street, on the left side of the Manor House. This was the third Moravian place of worship in Nazareth, and the first separate church building. Upon its completion in 1840, it replaced the chapel in the Manor House, but it only served as a church for 22 years, when it was replaced by the present church on Center Square. The 1840 church then was used for Sunday School classes and other activities. In 1905 Nazareth Hall bought it, turning the building into a gymnasium for the boys, with Nazareth's first indoor swimming pool taking up the first floor and basement.

The white townhouses next to the 1840 church were originally all one building, known as the "First Rooms," where the older boys at Nazareth Hall lived. Next to that is the building called the President's House, where the school's headmaster lived. Originally constructed in 1819, it has been expanded many times over its history, not always with great forethought, as you can see if you look at the rear of the building with its disjointed porches and roof lines.

The large stone building to the right of the Manor House was the Single Sisters' House, built in 1784 as a residence for the unmarried women of the community. The building was located so that the women could help care for the boys. The small brick building to the left of the Single Sisters' House was the laundry for the boys' school. The white stucco house on West Center Street was built as a private residence in 1782, but at various times housed the smaller boys from the school.

With the exception of the President's House, which is used as a craft shop and small museum (open by appointment only), all the other buildings in this quadrangle are now apartments or residences.

Nazareth Area Visitors' Center and C. F. Martin Homestead

You really should begin your visit to Nazareth at the Nazareth Area Visitors' Center, located at 201 N. Main Street (two blocks north of the Post Office on Center Square) in the former C. F. Martin homestead. Open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the volunteer greeters will be happy to answer your questions, give directions and recommend places for lunch, show the "Barony of the Rose" video ("250 years of Nazareth history in 15 minutes"), and sell Nazareth souvenirs.

The visitors' center is located in the home that Christian Frederick Martin, founder of the world-famous Martin Guitar Co., built for his family in 1857, when non-Moravians were permitted to move into town. The family continued to live in the house until the early 1990s, when Christian F. Martin IV married and moved out of Nazareth. Next door is the original Martin guitar factory in Nazareth, begun about the same time that the homestead was built and enlarged frequently. In the 1960s the main factory operations moved north of Nazareth to a new factory, but the company still retains the old factory for storage and some operations. Also located there is Guitarmaker's Connection, where you can buy guitar parts, kits, tools, and other luthier supplies.

Why Were the Henry Guns Made Outside of Nazareth?

In 1781 gunsmith William Henry built a stone shop on South Main Street in Nazareth and established his trade there. In 1798 he built a gun factory several miles north of Nazareth, at a place along the Bushkill Creek that he named Boulton, and he moved out of Nazareth. Why did he leave?

Despite the fact that the 18th century Moravians were pacifists, gunsmithing was a necessary trade. For the Moravians a gun was a tool, used to obtain food and for protection, rather than a weapon. Gunsmithing was also in demand among the neighboring settlers, and was an important part of the Moravians' economic system. William Henry built up a prosperous trade, so much so that in 1794 he asked to be relieved of his other duties (he was also a carpenter and architect) so that he could concentrate on guns. He was persuaded to continue with all of his positions.

Although Henry was an important resident of Nazareth, not all of his neighbors were impressed. In order to test the guns he made, he would take them outside to the alley next to his shop (the alley is still there today) and fire them with a triple charge of powder. Frequently, his neighbors complained and he was reprimanded.

In 1798 Henry received an order for 2,000 guns from Governor Mifflin of Pennsylvania, who feared that war was about to break out with France. To fill this order, Henry requested permission to erect a two-story workshop in Nazareth. No such factory had ever been located in a closed Moravian community, and there was concern that workers from "outside" would be needed to work at the factory. There also was not adequate water pressure available at any of the possible Nazareth locations.

When the overseeing committee could not make a decision, deferring action to the next meeting, Henry picked up his business and moved it north of Nazareth to the settlement of Jacobsburg, solving the problems of factory space, water pressure and noise all at once. In 1813 he moved the factory a short distance downstream to Boulton, where its ruins are today part of Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center. The history of the Henry family and its guns are preserved by the Jacobsburg Historical Society.

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