![]() The Bethlehem crew came down what many today know as the Great Wagon Road which turned east near present-day Roanoke, Virginia, and entered North Carolina near Danville before heading to Salem. They cobbled together the easiest grades and river crossings to create roads, roads we still use today. Once they left settled areas they traveled ancient paths used by the Native Americans for trade, diplomacy, warfare, and hunting. Some were less prepared for the challenges and dangers. Some, like the Morvians, were methodical in their preparations. They were in search of a variety of things cheaper land, less government interference, adventure. They packed what possessions they had and what provisions they could afford on stubborn mules and towering Conestoga wagons and started walking. Some, such as the vaunted Vogler family, came from as far away as Maine and Massachusetts to Salem. Tens of thousands of Europeans, mostly Scots and Germans, made this or similar treks to the North Carolina backcountry from settlements in Pennsylvania and Maryland from the late 1740s until the Revolutionary War. They crossed the Potomac River into Virginia on the 17th and reached Friedrichstown the next day. The first leg from Bethlehem to Harris’ Ferry (Harrisburg), past Carl Isle (Carlisle) and heading south toward Friedrichstown, Virginia (Winchester) was through settled territory with roads that were passably maintained. ![]() The 500-mile journey was expected to take about six weeks. They had to stay an extra night as they waited for the wagon to be made three inches narrower so it could manage the coming trail. 8, 1753, and walked for three days to catch up with the wagon that had left some days before them. ![]() They left before sunrise the next day, Oct. One was noted as a “man whom all animals love,” another as “skillful in many things and willing in all.” Men with carpentry, mill-wright, cooper, turner, and soldiering skills. Fifteen men were set to leave the Moravian settlement the next morning to build the church’s southern home on the Wachovia tract in North Carolina.Ĭarefully chosen for their skills, the group included several farmers, a cook, a washer, a baker, a gardener, a tailor, a shoe-maker, a surgeon, and a nurse. A joyous occasion at any time, this gathering was likely tinged with some sadness as well. The Moravians of Bethlehem gathered for their Sunday evening music service. ![]()
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