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THE WHITEFIELD HOUSE: MONUMENT TO MORAVIANS

Morning Call - Allentown, Pa. Author: LORNA WEIL, The Morning Call

Copyright Morning Call Dec 3, 1987

In the middle of historic Nazareth there stands "a great stone house . . . a monument to the accomplishments of the Moravian Church in America. No other building can claim the distinction of fostering so many different aspects of Moravian work."

The building Beth Pearce is referring to in the 1987 Nazareth Keepsake is the Whitefield House, a landmark of Moravianism in North America.

Recalling her extended research into the history of The Whitefield House, she exclaims "it is really amazing that it is still around, considering its history; considering that by the mid-1800s it was in a really dilapidated condition. And the question was, do we tear it down or put a lot of money to it."

If Philadelphia merchant John Jordan, "a very historically-minded person," had not come to its rescue in 1871, she says "the building may have been torn down."

Pearce, museum consultant for the Moravian Historical Society in Nazareth and part-time curator for Moravian Museums and Tours in Bethlehem, has shed new light on the Whitefield House and Ephrata Tract in "The Whitefield House, 1740-1987," this year's Nazareth Keepsake which will be released tomorrow.

The 1987 edition is the second in a series of Christmas Keepsakes published by the Oaks Printing Co. and sponsored by the Nazareth National Bank, which will be host for an autograph party to be held from 3 to 6 p.m. tomorrow.

The booklet will be distributed by the Moravian Hall Square Museum/ Craft Shop, 1 Hall Square, Nazareth, which has the copyright on it. This year's issue will be printed in 300 hard-cover copies and 1,100 soft cover.

Both the Whitefield House and Nazareth trace their origin to 1740 when the Rev. George Whitefield, an English evangelist, was determined to build a school for black children and develop a settlement for his distressed friends in England.

After purchasing the land from William Allen, Whitefield called upon the Rev. Peter Boehler, Moravian clergyman, to survey the tract and select a site for the school. Boehler, along with Anton Seiffert, a member of the Moravian colony, and Henry Antes, a local miller, "spent their first night on the tract under the branches of a great black oak tree," Pearce writes.

"It took a full day to survey the land which had many usable springs and was forested with red, black and white oak trees. There was also an Indian village, Welagamika, near the big oak where they slept," she says. Boehler, who accepted supervision of the building project, and the workers he chose arrived May 30, 1740, spending another night under the oak tree, which later became known as Boehler's Oak. However, construction came to a standstill by September because of heavy rains. Realizing the structure would not be under roof by winter, the Moravians built a cabin on the tract - the Gray Cottage - which still stands today.

The events that followed, the changes that were made and the treasured memories that were recorded in nearly 250 years have given the Whitefield House a predominant role in the Moravian life of Nazareth and Bethlehem.

A month after the rains began, an argument ensued between Whitefield and Boehler over theological views, and by July 1741, Whitefield sold the land to the Moravian Church. In the meantime, Bethlehem had its start with the signing of a deed for 500 acres "in the fork of the Lehigh River and Monocacy Creek," on April 1, 1741.

When consideration was being given to making Nazareth "the main church community," and word was received that the Second Sea Congregation with 33 Moravian couples would be arriving from Europe, work resumed on the Whitefield House. Diaries indicate it was completed by the end of December 1743.

Since the foundations had already been set in, Pearce notes "there are some English characteristics to the building. Fireplaces on the end are typically English. If the Moravians had built it, they would have had interior fireplaces, such as those in the Gemein House in Bethlehem."

She says that "Nazareth became sort of an outpost. It received the settlers who came from the Blue Mountains and beyond. It also received some of the friendly Indians and sheltered them here and in Gnadenthal (current site of Gracedale, the Northampton County Home.)"

When Nazareth began to feel the effects of the French and Indian War, Pearce relates "a palisade measuring 236 by 170 feet and 10 feet high was erected around the Whitefield House. An armed watch was established for the village. Evidence of Indians hiding in the bushes was found from time to time, but no attack was made on the Nazareth settlers."

However, an incident she came across in her research reportedly occurred during the time the Moravian missionaries at Gnadenhuetten, now Lehighton, were massacred.

According to the legend "during the night of Nov. 24, 1755, the residents of the Whitefield House experienced some unexplainable phenomenon. Just before midnight they heard footsteps, whispered conversations, and subdued groaning in the halls. A thorough search revealed nothing. These sounds were heard again just before daybreak and ended with a heart-wrenching scream followed by an overpowering stillness."

Pearce says "as far as I know, it's just a tale."

She explains that "the Whitefield House probably served more purposes than any other. It was very typical during the 18th century for a building to be used for a variety of purposes. If it outgrew one purpose, it didn't stand idle long."

In addition to becoming the first place of worship, it served as as a boarding school for girls from 1745-48, a nursery from 1749-64, an apartment residence, and the site of Moravian College and Theological Seminary from late 1855 until it moved to Bethlehem in 1858. When the property was deeded to the Society of United Brethren for Propagation of the Gospel in 1871, the Moravian Historical Society's museum moved in permanently.

And at the same time funds from John Jordan were used to renovate the first floor for use as a home for retired ministers or furloughed retired missionaries and the second floor for the society's museum and meeting room.

As the missionary field began to experience changes (there was no longer a need for a 50 by 86-foot building for retired ministers or missionaries) the Whitefield House again changed hands. The Moravian Historical Society acquired the Ephrata Tract in 1978.

"What could be more appropriate than for an historical society dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Moravian Church history to own and use as its seat the oldest extant Moravian site in North America?" Pearce asks.

She "would like to see further research done on the building. This is really just the beginning, to build the interest of historians and the community and other interested persons.

"The building is very important to the history of the Moravian church and I hope that it continues in the hands of the Moravian Historical Society. It would be nice to see it restored to its original appearance, interior-wise. But the question of what it was exactly in 1744 is still not answered," she says.

Pearce received her B.A. in American studies from Salem College, Winston- Salem, N.C., in 1984. While there she interned with the director of restoration at Old Salem Inc. She joined the Moravian Historical Society on a full-time basis in 1984 and in an agreement between the society and Moravian Museums and Tours in 1986, she became part-time curator in Bethlehem.

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