Pilger Ruh, Bethel Township, Berks County

I've mentioned in previous posts that my good friend Rachel used to work for Historic Bethlehem before she moved out of state. One thing she told me is a running joke for the staff and volunteers is that "Count Zinzendorf is everywhere." The Count, as you may remember from my post about the first house of Bethlehem, is the one who gave that city its name and was extremely involved in the Moravian movement of the 18th century.

It's really not an exaggeration to say that he's everywhere, either, given the number of times I've come across his name in my work. However, while I'm used to him cropping up during research in Northampton County, I wasn't expecting to find his name on one of the markers in Berks County, more than seventy miles away.

The marker is on PA 501 northbound,
on the right, near the spring

Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf was, as I've mentioned in a few other posts, a very interesting guy. He was a German nobleman who arguably had more to do with the spread of the Moravian faith than anyone else in history. I almost want to do an entire article just on him. He had his fingers in an awful lot of pies; he wrote hymns, founded a sort of spiritual knighthood called the Order of the Mustard Seed, and did a lot of traveling. This last happened because he sent so many Moravian missionaries out into the world that he began to be criticized by his detractors, who said he was sending people to their deaths; to prove otherwise, he went himself. That's how he came to Pennsylvania in 1741, where he met with a lot of influential people like Ben Franklin and visited the settlement that he named Bethlehem. The following year, he set out with Conrad Weiser (who will be mentioned in a future article, as his homestead is a historical landmark) and a number of other missionaries.

This portrait of the Count,
possibly by Christian Ludwig Krugelstein,
was donated by two of Count
Zinzendorf's descendants
to the Moravian Archives of Bethlehem
and appears here thanks to their kindness

1742 was an extremely busy year for the Count. During just the first six months, he wrote several papers and essays, corresponded with many friends back in Europe, conducted the deliberations of seven religious convocations, and preached in Lutheran and Reformed churches. He also visited rural areas to bring the gospel and education to some of the poorer and more isolated areas, as well as visiting some of the Delaware tribes. Then in the summer, he detoured up to New York and Connecticut to visit with Mohican tribes of Native Americans.

It was in September that he came back to Pennsylvania, and it was around that time that he stumbled across a place he named Pilger Ruh, or "Pilgrim's Rest."

The Count and company headed west of Bethlehem to continue spreading the gospel among Native Americans living near the north and west branches of the Susquehanna River. In what is known today as Bethel Township, the local Natives were called the Tulpehockens, and there was a commonly used route known as the Tulpehocken Path; this path has its own markers and will be explored more thoroughly in a future post. It connected the community of Shamokin to Womelsdorf, in the Tulpehocken Valley, where Conrad Weiser's home still stands. As the missionary team was following the path, it brought them to a spring on the first mountain. Because they were pilgrims, and they stopped to rest, the Count named it - well, exactly that. I can't find any sources which confirm exactly when in 1742 this took place; in fact, I'm just guessing that it happened in the fall based on what I read about the Count's work during the earlier parts of the year. He returned to Europe in January.

A number of things in the area are still named after Pilger Ruh, including a brewery in the nearby community of Pine Grove. While the marker I present here stands at the side of the highway, a stone marker was erected in 1946 by the spring itself, courtesy of the Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club of Berks County. According to this marker, the spring was "Named by Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf who with Conrad Weiser and Moravian Missionaries rested here beside this spring (Ludwig's Brunne) on their way to visit Shawnee Indians in Wyoming Valley." This marker stands at the end of the Pilger Ruh Spring Trail, very close to the Appalachian Trail.

It being midwinter when I found myself in Bethel, exploring the spring properly wasn't really an option; it was too cold. But I'd love to go back sometime, when the weather is warmer, and see for myself the restful spot where Count Zinzendorf and his friends refreshed themselves on their journey.

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Sources and Further Reading:

Pond, Enoch. Memoir of Count Zinzendorf: Comprising a Succinct History of the Church of the United Brethren from Its Renewal at Herrnhut to the Death of Its Illustrious Patron. Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, 1839.

Count Zinzendorf in the Encyclopaedia Britannica

Zinzendorf.com - official site of a documentary produced to celebrate the Count's 300th birthday

Nicolaus Zinzendorf on Wikipedia.org

Nicolaus Zinzendorf at FindAGrave.com

Pilger Ruh at the Historical Marker Database

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Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.