USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > Bethlehem > A history of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1741-1892, with some account of its founders and their early activity in America > Part 62
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12 The lists of the arrivals during these years, containing also the names of many destined for other places in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, are not always entered accurately and completely in the diaries, and could only be given in full, as in earlier years, by laborious examination of catalogues and biographies. With few exceptions those who located at
1786-1806. 569
In 1803, after years of discussion and planning, active operations were commenced at a more prominent building enterprise than any that have been referred to in this chapter; one which, in view of the numerical and financial situation of Bethlehem at that time, was a surprising undertaking. This was the erection of a new church which was said, and doubtless correctly, to have been, at the time of its completion, the largest church in Pennsylvania ; and it is doubtful whether a more spacious house of worship was to be found else- where in the country. The idea of building such a large village church-"Landkirche"-with a capacity sufficient for an entire town and its environs for many years to come, did not have the character- istic chapel or "prayer hall"-Betsaal-of the Moravian settlement compound as a model, like the church of that time, now the Old Chapel. The great churches of many European villages, where a whole neighborhood has one church and does not think of having more, were in mind. This began to be dis- cussed long before the Revolution. Even as early as Novem- ber, 1754, the statement in a report from Herrnhut that the attendance on general communion occasions, when the people of the whole manor assembled, was too large for the capacity of the
Bethlehem will be found mentioned in the diaries of the Congregation and the Brethren's House. They usually arrived in companies, but there were no large colonies as in earlier years-never beyond 12 to 15 at one time. The more considerable companies were single men, as a rule. Very few single women came. To assist those who may wish to pursue research in connection with this subject, or trace individuals, the year and month of the arrival of these little companies of Moravian immigrants, as found noted from the close of the Revolution to the end of the century, with a few conspicuous names of ministers and laymen of the several parties who figured at Bethlehem or elsewhere in Pennsylvania, are herewith given, in addition to those already mentioned in this chapter, without attempting a complete enumeration. November, 1783, John Meder, John Augustus Klingsohr, Samuel Gottlieb Kramsch, Dr. John Lewis (surgeon N. C., died at Bethlehem, 1788), Elizabeth Lewis, John Frederick Moehring; November, 1784, Charles Gotthold Reichel, George Godfrey Mueller ; October, 1788, John Frederick Frueauff with four single men; August, 1791, John Molther, Gottfried Sebastian Oppelt, Ernst Gehbe, Benedict Benade, and other single men, and in October, Christian Godfrey Peter, John Christopher Eilerts, Benjamin Mortimer, Christian Thomas Pfohl, Nils Tillofsen, and the teachers Christina Oliver and Mary Wade; November, 1795, the largest company, including Christian Frederick Schaaf, Andrew Benade, the surgeon Rudolphi, Conrad Kreuzer, Christian Gottlob Paulus, David Moritz Michael, the musician ; July, 1796, with Cunow, John Caspar Freitag (the Doctor John Eberhard Freitag came in 1790, as already stated, with Ettwein), and John Christian Ebbecke; November, 1797, John Frederick Stadiger with three single men; October, 1799, five single men, escorted by Godfrey Haga; November, 1800, Joseph Zaeslein, Ernst Lewis Hazelius, John Henry Schultz, Frederick Bourquin.
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A HISTORY OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.
old Berthelsdorf church, called forth the remark in a conference at Bethlehem, that in process of time a church large enough to seat fifteen hundred persons would have to be built for the gathering of people from the outlying places and of the Indian converts who might be living in the vicinity, on special occasions. All of the men who participated in that conference had been gathered to their fathers and all Indians had long disappeared from the neighborhood, before this ambitious project was really consummated, fifty years later. When Bishop Nathanael Seidel went to the General Synod in Europe in 1769, he laid before that body the desirability of building such a church at Bethlehem. It was discussed and generally approved, but the scheme was postponed in favor of the enlargement of the Sisters' House. Then, while the matter was yet resting, the Revolution came on and further steps could not be thought of. When Christian Heckewelder first broached the idea, in 1785, of building a new store "on the vacant lot opening on the square"-the place at which it was eventually built, the Eagle Hotel site-it is recorded that the project to build a new church was re-opened and the opinion prevailed that this should take precedence. Further deliberations followed at intervals until Bishop Ettwein went to Europe in 1789, to attend the General Synod. He was authorized to agitate the subject anew. He took with him a map of Bethlehem, drafts of several eligible sites and a plan of the proposed church. His fond hope was that the enterprise might be proceeded with during the years 1790 and 1791, and might progress far enough to at least have the corner-stone laid at the celebration of Bethlehem's jubilee, June 25, 1792. The drafts and plans were discussed with much interest at the Synod, the committee on American affairs reported in favor of the undertaking, plans for raising the necessary money were considered, and the official sanction which was necessary under the system of that time was formally given by the Unity's Elders' Conference. Decided differences of opinion in regard to the building site began to develop after Bishop Ettwein's return. His favorite spot was the so-called timber yard, the locality between the present main building of the Parochial School and Cedar Street, now occupied by the remodeled boys' school house and the janitor's house. His plan was to open a new street from that spot down to the present Main Street and the large open square-Platz-of that time, which, with Cedar Street northward, and the walks through the cemetery eastward, would, as he argued, provide approaches to
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the church from those directions in which the town would naturally extend, while access from the various choir houses southward would be very convenient. Another site in view was the garden south of the Community or Clergy House, where at present the parsonage west of the Widows' House stands. This place was favored by the fathers of the Unity's Elders' Conference, for it was thought that there it would round out a symmetrical group, fronted and flanked right and left by the several other institutional buildings, and pre- sent an imposing and picturesque appearance from the southern approach to the town across the river. The third site proposed was the large space west of the old Community House, then yet occupied by the two log houses and the water-tower, all of which were thought to have outlasted their usefulness, to be in a state of decay, and unsightly in appearance. It was proposed to demolish these and build the new church there, fronting the square or Platz; front- ing also what those who were having the bridge in mind, considered would then become the Main Street of the town; the thoroughfare between the bridge and the hotel, store and mills, more traveled than before, when traffic grew with the prospective development of facilities. That this site was ultimately chosen was to some extent a compromise on the part of those who advocated the other two, between which there was the most decided contention; and the favorite plan of some to have that space eventually thrown into the Platz and remain a park was waived. The argument against the timber-yard site was mainly that it would not display the church sufficiently, and would become pent up.
Ettwein argued against the garden site most decidedly and to some extent also against that which was finally selected, chiefly on account of misgivings as to the security of the foundation, in view of the precarious nature of the limestone formation along that entire slope, to which he had given careful attention. He pointed out evidences of cavernous places in the rock, of sliding and settling layers and a treacherous condition generally, increasing towards the descent southward. This had led the master masons to strengthen the walls of the connecting section of the Sisters' House and those of the chapel, built in 1751, with buttresses. It had caused much diffi- culty with the foundation of the Widows' House and produced a crack in the walls of the Brethren's House. Although, as he records, his opinion on this point was ridiculed by some and not much heeded by any, the unexpected labor and expense required to secure a satis-
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factory foundation when finally the church building was commenced, justified his views, and as for the garden site across the way to the south of the clergy house, which he most strongly opposed, some who are very familiar with the premises in modern times have observed singular evidences of the precarious condition of things beneath the surface, of which he was so firmly persuaded. The matter dragged until, in February, 1792, it seemed, after further discussion in the several boards, as if an agreement would at last be reached to let the question of the site be discussed by the men of the village in common council. Then the bridge building project was suddenly thrust forward and another postponement of the church building ensued.
In a letter to the Unity's Elders' Conference, in March, 1792, Bishop Ettwein, referring to the question that had been raised anew as to whether a large church was really needed, expressed the belief that if there could always be a strong preacher at Bethlehem, as well as at Lititz, many people from the surrounding neighborhoods would be attracted to the churches of these places. Amid the religious conditions and doctrinal tendencies of those times, he attached great importance to the idea of making the Moravian churches centers at which to gather as many people as possible to hear sound evangelical
preaching. He refers also to the inconvenient, round-about entrances to the Old Chapel, of which he was often ashamed when the numerous visitors at Bethlehem during the summer, who wished to attend services, had to be conducted into the place.18 Meanwhile the new building for the boarding-school, the bridge, the extension of the Widows' House, the new store, a new market house and other minor improvements were completed and the church building enter-
13 The present north facade and entrance to the Old Chapel are modern. At that time, it was entered through the eastern doorway at the front of the Clergy House and by doors at the east side, one from the first floor of the bell-turret house, another opening from the lawn in front of it into the basement under the chapel, from which an inside stairway ascended. There was also a door, made use of commonly by aged and invalid women. opening from the upper floor of the bell-turret house into a small gallery at the north end. As the interior of the buildings was then arranged, access to the chapel through that doorway could be had from the remotest parts of the Sisters' House without going out of doors. The congrega- tion was for the most part seated facing westward. The simple table which served all the purposes of the officiating minister-there was no regular pulpit-was placed centrally at the west side, where he stood or sat facing the congregation eastward, with the official men and women seated on special benches against the west wall, to his right and left respectively, also facing the congregation. Various oil paintings representing Scripture scenes, especially from the life of Christ, some of which are yet preserved, were hung about the walls.
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prise was indefinitely postponed. Finally a new start was made in 1802, when the development of the provisions for water distribution, the construction of a new octagonal stone reservoir, from which the first flow began on September I of that year, and the consequent abandonment of the old wooden water-tower, opened the subject of building a church once more. The long delay had worn out the energy of controversy about the location of the edifice. The timber- yard and garden sites were given up by their respective advocates and gradual agreement to settle upon the water-tower site had been reached. Bishop Ettwein did not live long enough to see the actual beginning of operations, for on the second day of that year he entered into rest. The arrival of Bishop Loskiel in July, awakened new activity. In accordance with the common disposition of people, what he said found more hearing and what he did was more accept- able, because he was a new man, than anything that emanated from one who had been with them longer, even if he said or did the same things.
The first flow of water from the new reservoir seemed to be emblematic of the new spirit of progressive action, for on that very day, September I, 1802, a general council was held to take those steps forward that depended now upon the action of such a meeting. Careful preparatory work had been done. Like the interesting asso- ciation between hotel and store, to which reference has been made, the process of things which was now culminating reveals a similar connection between water-works and church, giving room for fancy to play on the significance of "the well of Bethlehem," that wonder- ful spring, as an emblem of the spiritual water of life dispensed ; the purpose for which the church was to stand. A committee had been wrestling with the water problem. It consisted of John Gebhard Cunow, the administrator; John Schropp, the warden; William Boehler, Jr., Joseph Horsfield, John Christian Reich, and Anton Schmidt. They canvassed the subject of a new water-tower or reservoir and a new church together, and the undertaking of the latter enterprise was strongly favored. Cunow and some others conceived the idea of combining them by planning the church with a massive tower at the west end, to be utilized for water distribution and belfry jointly, but this idea was evidently too startlingly unique to find acceptance. The unanimous sentiment of that meeting of September I, settled the question of proceeding. The very important matter of raising money was at the same time discussed. This point
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and others involved were given consideration by a conference held by thirty-six ministers in the chapel of the Sisters' House, in Octo- ber. It was decided to solicit direct subscriptions, first from the Bethlehem people, then from the people of Nazareth, Lititz and the other Moravian settlements and congregations in America, then also from brethren and friends in Europe. The larger part of the cost was to be covered by instituting a tontine plan like that which had been adopted at Zeist, in Holland. Considerable amounts were, in course of time, made available under this plan, which, although opposed by Cunow and some others, was adopted on a limited scale. Some of the annuities, however, ran on very long before the sums thus advanced ceased to draw interest, for certain of the beneficiaries were very tenacious of life. It is interesting to note how very modern they were in 1802, in under-estimating the probable cost of a church. It was expected that it could be built for about $11,000. It eventually cost more than five times that amount, including the organ.
The Building Committee consisted of John Gebhard Cunow, the administrator; John Schropp, the warden; John David Bishop, William Boehler, Jr., Matthew Eggert, George Huber, and Samuel Steup, with the Rev. Andrew Benade, principal of the boarding- school and regular preacher, and at that time the most energetic advocate of the enterprise among the clergy. Preliminary steps to clear the building site and commence excavations were taken directly after the council of September 1, 1802. Before the middle of Sep- tember the families who occupied the old log houses had been pro- vided quarters elsewhere. The water-tower house was demolished at the end of the month. James Cruickshank, the last occupant who tarried in the other one, next to the Clergy House, moved out, the middle of October, and before the end of that month the second of these old structures had also disappeared. Further than this, little seems to have been done at the spot during the winter. On November 19, Warden Schropp contracted for the quarrying of the stone at the "Stein-Rutsch," i. e. rock-slide-the German words were later anglicized, with their meaning lost, into "stone ridge"-on the mountain side across the river from the large island. During that uncommonly cold winter, the most of the stone was conveyed across the river on the ice. Christian Nagel, George Savitz, John Hillman and Jacob Schneider were the quarrymen. John Cunius, of Reading, was the architect and superintendent of construction. His plans and
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specifications were accepted, January, 1803. Contracts were made with Francis Weiss, of Lehighton, and William Nyce, up the Dela- ware, in the Minnisinks, for pine and oak timber ; with Balzer Staehle, to furnish the choice white oak for the frame-work of the large belfry, and with Daniel Wagner and John Green & Co., of Easton, for pine boards. Adam Lehn and Nicholas Woodring, of Easton, were employed as master masons. March 19, 1803, at a special meeting of men and boys, it was agreed that the excavation of the cellar should be undertaken by volunteers, gratuitously. The next day a large number of them set to work at this task and continued from day to day-the residents of the Sisters' House furnishing fore- noon and afternoon lunch as their contribution to the effort-until in two weeks it was accomplished. Then preparations were made for starting the great foundation walls, six feet thick, with the best stone blasted out of the mountain side and mortar so excellent, from the pit in which it had lain during the winter, that when it now becomes necessary to apply the chisel and hammer to it, little difference between the hardness of the stone and the joints is perceptible. April 13, the masons began their work. The entire force, including the "tenders," numbered about twenty, nearly all of them men from out of town.
April 16, the corner-stone was laid at the north-east corner, not as a mere ornamental block set into the wall above the ground, but down at the bottom, a foundation stone, after the manner of former times. At ten o'clock the people assembled in the Old Chapel, where a preliminary service was conducted and a brief address was delivered by Bishop Loskiel, who also read the document which was to be deposited in the stone. It contained the names of National, State and Church dignitaries, catalogues of the several divisions of the mem- bership and lists of the pupils in the boarding-school. Coins of the United States, which were then a new thing-the first copper having been coined in 1792 and the first silver and gold in 1794 and 1795- were also deposited. After this, the lead box into which the articles were placed was sealed. Then all proceeded in decorous order to the building site, where they formed in a square, while the trombonists performed a chorale. A hymn was sung, accompanied by stringed instruments, and in the last verse by the trombones also. The Bishop, with other officials, gathered about the stone and when the conse- crating formula had been spoken by him while he grasped the stone, preparatory to lifting it, he, with the assistance of Cunow and
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Schropp, placed it in position. After this the leaden box was put into the cavity in the stone and during the singing of another hymn all of the clergy who participated performed the ceremony of striking the stone with the hammer. Thereupon followed prayer by the offici- ating Bishop, after which a closing hymn was sung and the assembly was dismissed with the benediction.14
At the close of the year the walls were laid up to the eaves, and the woodwork had progressed correspondingly. William Boehler, Jr., was master-carpenter and John Frederick Bourquin, a very pro- ficient cabinet-maker and joiner, did the finer work, such as the paneling around the galleries, the carving at the door-ways and the like, and built the pulpit. Stephen Eastwick and Levick Palmer, of Philadelphia, did the plastering and stucco-work and rough-cast the exterior of the edifice after its completion, excepting the block-work around the windows, which was not done until after 1830. The building committee unfortunately became involved in controversy and litigation with these Philadelphia mechanics. Before the end of 1804, the entire building had finally been enclosed. May 7, 1805, the vane was mounted on the belfry, in which was hung the bell received from London in April; that now hanging in the belfry of the West Bethlehem Chapel. Although much work remained to be done inside, the church then stood complete in its original external shape, which is familiar from extant pictures and which many have wished it yet had. The annexes at each end had a flat roof, covered with sheet copper. A graceful turret stood in the center of each, while a balustrade ran around the three outside edges. Trouble was experienced with leaking, which damaged the interior, and in 1816 this unique design was destroyed by running out the gable roof of the central body of the building to both ends. There have always been those who could not be convinced that this course, put through by the determination of several men, was the only way to overcome the trouble, for there are many flat roofs in the world that do not
14 A copy of the document that was deposited in the stone is preserved in the archives. The aged widow Salome Gold, a daughter of David Weinland. master of the violoncello and successor, in 1790, of Frederick Beitel as farmer general at Bethlehem-she died in 1891 in the 95th year of her age-was among the school children who were present on that occasion. When more than ninety years old she retained a vivid recollection of the cere- mony and gave the writer a description of it, stating exactly where the children stood, where the trombonists were stationed, what hymns were sung, and how the different officials looked. Her most striking impression was of Cunow who wore " a long blue coat with a cape" and of whom the little girls " were very much afraid."
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THE MORAVIAN CHURCH, 1806
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leak. The finishing of the interior proceeded slowly and was not completed until May, 1806. The interior of the church has been altered almost as much as the exterior. When it was originally finished there was no alcove at the pulpit end. Centrally at that end stood the traditional table-Liturgus-Tisch-characteristic of the Moravian chapel or prayer-hall, on a large platform which extended to the doors on either side, and it was flanked right and left by the benches for the clergy and for the women in official position, facing the congregation. The old-time table and the chair for the use of the officiating minister are preserved in the archive-room of the church -the large up-stairs room at the east end, which was originally designed and for many years used for minor services and meetings of various kinds. High above the table, against the flat wall, was the pulpit of the pattern dubbed "swallow's nest." It was entered behind from the aforesaid large up-stairs room. The original pulpit, which was removed in 1851, when one designed by Bishop William Henry Van Vleck and now doing duty in the Moravian Church in South Bethlehem, was built at the same time that the organ gallery was enlarged, is yet in existence, stowed away in the garret of the church. On a level with the high pulpit, in the corners, on either side of it, were small galleries which were made use of by some clergy and church dignitaries, usually aged or infirm persons ; men using that on the north and women that on the south side, corre- sponding to the division of the sexes in the seating of the congre- gation which was adhered to for sixty years after the church was built. Traces of those corner galleries, which were removed in 1867, when the most radical interior alterations were made and the present pulpit was built, may be seen on the walls. They were entered through doorways up-stairs, from the eastern annex. A stairway similar to that in the north-east corner of the church origin- ally ran up in the south-east corner. The walls show the marks of that staircase, as also of the doors at the head of the stairs, both on the north and south sides, which opened into the corner galleries.
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