Oley Moravians, Oley, Berks County

Before we get into this week's quest, I want to give an update on a situation I had mentioned to my readers six months ago. Back in March, when we visited the Christ Little Tulpehocken Church, I shared the news of a Berks County family cemetery which was under threat from a warehouse developer. I'm pleased to tell you that as of last week, the Historic Kemp Burial Ground has been saved! The developer will still build their warehouse, but the cemetery is not to be moved. Not only that, but the agreement states that the developer will make some improvements to the burial ground, such as replacing the worn-out gate and providing an American flag. This is a tremendous victory and very exciting! Our local news has the details here. Congratulations to everyone involved!

(Edited to add: I am not one of the people involved. I do not have any further information than what has been shared publicly. If you want to know more, please check out the Facebook group; you can find a link at the website.)

One more quick shout-out before we get started; I collected this marker last month, while on the way home from a Sherlockian gathering in Reading. I've mentioned in other posts that I belong to the White Rose Irregulars, which meets (in non-pandemic times) four times a year to discuss the Great Detective, and our coordinator is Denny Dobry, who has a magnificent recreation of Sherlock's apartment in his basement. My stepdad Ravi and I were out to attend his wonderful open house in August; I hadn't seen it in several years, and Ravi had never seen it at all, so this was a great experience for us both. (If you're curious, check out this blog post from a couple years ago, made in preparation of another open house.)

Now, as to today's subject matter, it was a tiny bit confusing to me at first, but it's a good example of why the PHMC's current project to update certain markers is so important. This one is, unfortunately, just a little bit behind the times.

The marker stands on Memorial Highway (PA 622)
near the intersection with Mine Road

To the surprise of no one who has read any of my other posts about the Moravians in Pennsylvania, Count Zinzendorf shows up here. I've already told you about the Christmas Eve service in 1741, when he gave the name of Bethlehem to the Moravian community in what is today Northampton County. Following this, the Count, his daughter Benigna, and a group of other brethren set out for the Oley Valley, to visit the Moravian settlement there. According to records, he preached to the settlers there on "the second day of Christmas," although I'm not sure exactly when that was. We do know, however, that the sermon was given in the home of Jean Bertolett, a French Huguenot settler. Zinzendorf was a big fan of the work being done in Oley; he called for a synod to be held there, the third of its kind, and this synod was held in the home of another French Huguenot, John Deturk, in February 1742.

The synod was led by the Moravian lay preacher Andrew Eschenbach, and those in attendance included not only Moravians but also Lutherans, Reformed, and Mennonites. They intended to formally establish themselves as a Moravian congregation, but surprisingly, Zinzendorf objected. Instead, he convinced the synod to create the Oley congregation as non-denominational. Its members would be registered according to the denomination in which they had been raised. Eschenbach was ordained as the new church's minister, and Christian Henry Rauch and Gottlob Buttner were ordained to be missionaries to the Native Americans. Another important event of the synod was the baptism of three Mohican Natives, who had been brought for the purpose from a mission in New York state. They were baptized, and spent an entire day preaching the Gospel to local Lenape Natives who had come to the synod. Their names are recorded as having been Shabash, Seim, and Kiop.

Zinzendorf was of the opinion that the Oley settlement would prove to be even more important than Bethlehem. We know now, of course, that he was way off the mark. The Oley settlement dwindled, while those in Bethlehem and Nazareth flourished. One thing which didn't help was the fact that all of the Native Americans disappeared from the Oley Valley during the French and Indian War, presumably to participate in the fighting; they never returned after the war ended, and although the homes they had abandoned were left untouched by their settler neighbors, they eventually collapsed, the last one falling in 1856.

But the Oley Moravians did a fair bit of significant work in the area, and in particular, they built and operated the first school in the region. It was constructed in 1748 and was used until 1751, after which they built (and later demolished) a larger school building. The first school, which also served as the church and a boarding facility, remained standing, and the marker wording indicates that it still does.

I had to do a bit of sleuthing, because we simply could not find the school, even though it's said to be close to where the marker stands. The picture at left is a postcard I found online; the photographer is not named, but the card dates from 1910 and was published by and copyrighted to H. Winslow Fegley of Reading. I couldn't find any records as to exactly when it happened, but eventually, the building ceased to be either a school or a church. At some point in the early 20th century, the building and the parcel of land on which it was constructed were sold, and it was turned into a private residence.

In 1946, a brochure was published about the Moravian Church, and it included the photograph of the old schoolhouse seen at right. By this time, the building had started to become very run down from age and weather. The historical marker was erected in 1948, two years after the picture was taken, so at the time the wording was accurate and the old schoolhouse really was just a mile and a half from where the marker stands. However, the building was finally demolished in the late 1950s after it was declared to have deteriorated beyond saving. Possibly there are still some traces visible of the foundation, but without knowing exactly where to look (since the marker doesn't give a direction), it would be difficult to locate.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, the PHMC is currently working to update the wording on many of the markers. I'm sure that they'll get to this one when they can, and change it to reflect the fact that the building no longer stands. Until then, don't go searching for the schoolhouse which brought the first formal education to the Oley Valley. But do remember that the Moravians were an important part of the area's rich history.

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Sources and Further Reading:

Hamilton, J. Taylor. “The Moravian Work at Oley, Berks County, Penna.” Transactions of the Moravian Historical Society, 1942.

Leibensperger, David. "The History of the Moravians in Oley." Transformation Prayer Network, date unknown.

Oley Moravians 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.