Indians and Moravians
The area in which Bethlehem would grow and the
surrounding regions of the Lehigh Valley were inhabited by the Delaware
Indians, which in their own language were the "Lenni Lenape". They
were a peaceful agrarian tribe, and were part of the powerful confederacy
called the Six Nations. The members of this League were more commonly
called the Iroquois. (15) The first European settlers arrived
in the 1740’s, and, like many others of the time, were fleeing from religious
persecution in their homeland. These pilgrims were the Moravians,
who had left Germany under the patronage of Count Zinzendorf. While
some attempted to settle in Georgia, most preferred to come to Pennsylvania,
whose geographic features and climate closely resembled those of Germany.
For their first winter in America in 1740, the Moravians were sheltered
by colonists on the Nazareth tract of land. They were then offered
the sale of 500 acres of land south of Nazareth, on the northern bank of
the Lehigh River near the mouth of the Monacacy Creek, which they accepted.
(24-25) Construction began immediately on the first communal
hewn-log house, so that the Moravians were able to celebrate Christmas
Eve of 1741 at their new home. It is said that while singing Christmas
hymns, Count Zinzendorf declared that the new settlement should be called
Bethlehem, after the birthplace of Jesus. (1-2) Since the
Moravians were a highly religious and moral group, they felt indebted to
also purchase their land from the Indians who inhabited it. By December
1742, Count Zinzendorf completed negotiations with the Delaware for their
removal from the settlement land, reimbursing them for their huts, a peach
orchard, and a small wheat field. (36)
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