Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

“ Bethlehem was the seat of a general hospital twice during the Revolution and during the six years from 1775 to 1781, it was a thoroughfare for Continental troops. Heavy baggage and munitions of war and General Washington’s private baggage were stored in the town and guarded by 200 Continentals under command of Colonel William Polk, of North Carolina, while many houses were occupied by American troops and British prisoners of war. The Continental Congress found refuge there when on its flight from Philadelphia. ”

“ J. Frederick Wolle, pupil of Rheinberger, organist of the Lutheran Church, has charge of the music; choir consists of 200 voices, natives of Bethlehem, excepting leading soloists; the orchestra and instrumental soloists vary, the Philadelphia Orchestra{213} has played here. Location of Bethlehem is scenically quite as beautiful as Eisenach in the Thuringian forest, where the famous Wartburg, with memories of Tannhaeuser, Bach, and Luther attract thousands of tourists and pilgrims. ”

“ The Moravian workmen were compelled to seek a new home. This they found when their Bishop, David Nitcshmann, secured a tract of 5000 acres at the confluence of the Monocacy Creek and the Delaware River, on which, in March, 1741, they began to build Bethlehem. This eventually became the principal settlement of the Moravians in the province. ”

“ The information respecting our country which has been obtained by the very respectable Brethren of Bethlehem, and is contained in their archives, will, I believe, be more perfectly offered to the world by you at present, than probably it ever will afterwards by others ”

“ Probably the first white man to cross the county was David Zeisberger, who passed down the Allegheny River to mouth of the Tionesta, Forest County, in 1767; his journal, now on file in the Moravian Library at Bethlehem, tells of the wild beauty of the county. Farming and stock raising are gaining, but the main industry is still lumbering, with second growth of hardwoods, maple, beech, and birch, which will in time be a great nucleus of wealth. ”

“ The settlements of Bethlehem and Nazareth, in Pennsylvania, inhabited by the Moravians, are truly interesting to strangers. They exhibit peculiar indications of order, industry, and comfort, and the expanse of ten miles which divides them, is marked by neat and careful cultivation. ”

“ As agriculture may be called the vocation of the Pennsylvania Germans in general, so education may be called the vocation of the Moravians. To the support of the parochial school at Bethlehem I heard that about [201] nine thousand dollars are annually appropriated from the income of the church property there. This enables those who have charge to put the terms of instruction very low. ”

“ Bethlehem became the frontier town in the direction of the Indian country, was surrounded with a stockade. and carefully guarded against attacks from the savages. Spangenberg was in stated correspondence with the governor of Pennsylvania, who acknowledged the great benefit the bishop was conferring upon the whole colony by thus holding his town. ”

“ NORTHAMPTON COUNTY FORMED March 11, 1752; named by Thomas Penn; prior to the Revolution comprised all the northeast section of Pennsylvania; chief industries, Bethlehem Iron and Steel Works, where 15,000 men are employed day and night; silk mills, graphite works, and other manufactories. Here were Washington’s storehouses along the Delaware River, with supplies for all branches of the army; a point of attack by the British battling between West Point and Trenton, buildings are still in evidence. ”

“ The public money of Pennsylvania was sent to Easton, the Liberty Bell and church bells at Philadelphia were sent to Bethlehem and Allentown, the Market Street bridge was removed and the boats at the ferries of the Schuylkill brought to the city side.
Washington advanced to the Lancaster road, and Howe and Cornwallis left the vicinity of Chester and marched toward the road through what is now West Chester and by Goshen Meeting, and the Sign of the Boot Inn, which General Howe occupied and made his headquarters. ”

“ The apartments will be appropriated free of rent to the widows and unmarried daughters of missionaries, ministers, and other servants of the church, including teachers in the seminaries. [110]
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The Gemein-haus (congregation-house) was used for the ministers’ families, sometimes three or four, who resided in Bethlehem. It is no longer occupied by these, but by other members of the society. It adjoins the old chapel, where the preaching is in German. These old buildings, especially the widow-house, are in good repair. ”

“ This city is pleasantly situated upon a mountain ridge, the slopes of which are terraced with rows of fig and olive trees, rising one above another in regular gradation. The population of Bethlehem is about three thousand, principally Christians. The Church of the Nativity is about the only attraction. ”

“ Among the borough’s industrial establishments, the manufactories of iron and steel are the most important, but it also manufactures brass, zinc, and silk and knit goods. The municipality owns and operates its waterworks. Bethlehem was founded by the Moravians, led by Count Nikolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, shortly before Christmas in 1741, and the season of the year suggested its name; for the first century of its existence it was almost exclusively a settlement of that sect, and it is still their American headquarters. Bethlehem was incorporated as a borough in 1845. ”

“ Is the center of one of the richest bituminous coal and natural gas districts in the world. Oil fields lie mainly in basins of Allegheny and Ohio Rivers. Staple manufactures are iron, steel and glass. The history of Allegheny County presents a greater variety of startling incidents than almost any other portion of the state. Mound builders were primeval inhabitants, site of ancient fortifications are on Chartier’s Creek, eight miles from Pittsburgh, county seat, second city in size in the state, on site of Shannopin’s Town, chief of about twenty families of Delawares ”

“ Through William Penn’s liberal policy to early settlers, and later being the seat of government of the United States, many national institutions were originated here, and many more historical buildings are here than in any other city in America. It comprises the whole of Philadelphia County, and has a distinctive character of its own, reminiscent of the old Quaker life, which is given in this book in two Colonial Walks; the Revolutionary Period is given in automobile routes, framed on Washington’s itinerary ”

“ In the same way that it is impossible for a stranger in England to judge us from the writings of Arnold Bennett when he places all his characters in the five towns, so what I say about Bethlehem will merely tell a little about the people living in a small town, and a town that has suddenly grown from importance as a religious centre to the insignificance of a great steel city, for it must be the products of this city that will interest the people at large. ”

“ Captured by the Crusaders in the 11th century, Bethlehem was made an episcopal see; but the bishopric soon sank to a titular dignity. Beside the grotto of the Nativity other traditional sites are shown within the church, such as the Altar of the Magi, the Tomb of Eusebius, the cave wherein Jerome made his translation of the Bible, &c.
There are several monasteries and convents, and British, French and German schools. The village is well built and comparatively clean. ”

“ The whole village is out-of-doors, enjoying the coolness or the panorama with all the zest unconstrained gratification always brings. The multitudes of well-dressed promenaders surprise every new-comer, who immediately thinks of Saratoga or Newport, and their social characteristics. Bethlehem, he thinks, must be the ideal of those who would carry city or, at least, suburban life among the mountains; who do not care a fig for solitude, but prefer to find their pleasures still connected with their home life. They are seeing life and seeing nature at the same time. ”

“ Bethlehem is a long town of solidly-built stone houses, crowning the summit of two knolls, connected by a lower saddle, on a white chalk ridge, with steep declivities to the north and south. The monastery and basilica are at the east end of the town, overlooking the northern valley. The population of 5000 souls is almost entirely Christian, and the inhabitants are remarkable for their enterprise and energy in trade. The contrast between Bethlehem and Hebron is very striking ”

“ In Broad and Spring Garden streets opposite the Baldwin Locomotive Works is Herbert Adams's statue of Matthias William Baldwin (1795-1866) , founder of the works. Close to the bank of the Delaware, some distance N.N.E. of the city-hall, is the small Penn Treaty Park with a monument to mark the site of the great elm tree under which Penn, according to tradition, negotiated his treaty with the Indians in 1683. In the south-west part of the city, along the Schuylkill, is Bartram's botanical garden (27 acres) , which the city added to its park system in 1891 ”

“ Being a conservative town, the original city plan has been closely followed, descendants of the early white settlers are living on their own lands from original surveys. Courthouse, Renaissance, brick, in center of a fine wide park, contains portrait of John Morrison, first town crier; near by is Soldiers’ Monument, marble shaft surmounted by an eagle; on the pedestal are carved names of Venango County soldiers killed in the Civil War ”

“ Rose purchased 100,000 acres in 1807, partly in Silver Lake Township, and developed the resources of the county. Public buildings face the square, in which is the monument to Civil War soldiers. Courthouse, a fine structure, colonial architecture, built in 1842, contains a portrait of Honorable Galusha A. Grow, who was sent to Congress from this county. The conference building seats 3000; here The Bible Institute is held each summer. At Springville was farm of Zophar Blakeslee, whose daughter, Sarah, was married to Honorable Asa Packer. ”

“ The Church of England people formed a curious and decidedly hostile element in the early population of Pennsylvania. They established themselves in Philadelphia in the beginning and rapidly grew into a political party which, while it cannot be called very strong in numbers, was important in ability and influence. After Penn's death, his sons joined the Church of England, and the Churchmen in the province became still stronger. ”

“ County seat, Lebanon, population 24,643, on the William Penn Highway; settled in 1750. Streets run north and south, east and west. Courthouse, at the corner of Eighth and Cumberland Streets, colonial, brick. United States post office, classic, with Doric columns. A historic inn, the St. Eitz, built in 1752, was occupied by George Washington. Hill Church, colonial, brick; in the yard is a monument to Rev. John Casper Stoever, first Lutheran minister in Lebanon County, in 1733. ”

“ Zion Reformed Church at Allentown sheltered our Liberty Bell and the Christ Church bells during the Revolution; among their thirty churches in Philadelphia and vicinity, of Gothic architecture, stone, are the First Church, Fiftieth and Locust Streets; oldest of this denomination in Philadelphia; moved from Tenth and Wallace Streets; Palatinate, Fifty-sixth Street and Girard Avenue; St. John’s, Fortieth and Spring Garden Streets; and Trinity, northeast corner of Broad and Venango Streets. There are also five churches of the Dutch Reformed. ”

“ First permanent settlement was made in 1750, by a Scotchman named Ray (McRay) , an Indian trader, near present site of Bedford, then Raystown. In 1755, Colonel James Burd was appointed by the province to construct the first wagon road, from Fort Louden, Franklin County, to join Braddock’s road near Turkey Foot, Somerset County, passing through Raystown (Bedford) , practically identical with the Chambersburg and Bedford Turnpike, now Lincoln Highway. ”

“ Clarion, population, 2,793, made county seat in 1840; is finely located on a hill 1500 feet above sea level, on the Bellefonte and Meadville Turnpike. Public buildings face the park; Courthouse, third reconstruction, completed in 1882, Georgian; architect, Mr. Betts; contains portraits of judges. Jail, Norman architecture, stone with brick front, was built in 1874. Connected with the State Normal School is a stone chapel containing busts of Abraham Lincoln and Henry W. Longfellow; also Navaree Hall, Spanish architecture, stone, brick, and concrete; architects, Allison & Allison, Pittsburgh. ”

“ In 1746, he travelled as a minister of the Society of Friends, through the provinces of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, where it appears that his mind was again engaged and his feelings excited, and that he took occasion during the journey to communicate his convictions on this deeply-interesting subject to many of the inhabitants. He says, he "saw in these southern provinces so many vices and corruptions increased by this trade and this way of life [viz., the whites living idly and luxuriously on the labor of the blacks] , that it appeared to him as a erloom over the land." ”

“ The parties named were not all Moravians, but the deed was made to them in trust for “a certain congregation of Christian people, as well German as English, residing in the City of Philadelphia, belonging 514to the church of the Evangelical Brethren, who have caused to be erected thereon a new building for and to their use and service as a church and school house to S. Lewis Zinzindorf, David Nitschmann, Joseph Spangenberg, Henry Antes, John Bloomfield, and Charles Brockden.” ”