Gnadenhütten, Lehighton, Carbon County

As promised, after last week's unusual post, it's back to business as usual. I had hoped to finish my Carbon County book last October, but life has a tendency to get in the way. Between work, health, weather, and the holidays, I haven't gotten it done. But it's almost done. I have two chapters and an afterword left to finish, plus some tweaks I want to make to the finished chapters, and I'm hoping to get it wrapped up in the next few weeks.

So when I was trying to decide what to write about this week, I took a poll on the blog's Facebook account asking if people would rather have a new quest or another sneak peek at the book. It was a close call (things were in a dead heat even when I woke up this morning), but the tie finally broke with one last vote to do a sneak peek. 

The original post about Gnadenhütten remains one of the most popular I've ever done, and I'm extremely proud of how I've fleshed it out in the book. I won't share the entire chapter, but here's a look at some of the detailing, including an image I've never before shared on this blog.

Friedenshuetten, Wyalusing, Bradford County

The fall colors are glorious throughout the commonwealth, though as I write this the weather is on the dreary side. I'm baffled to realize that I have one more blog post after this and then the month of October is done; it's like I blinked and it was over.

We haven't talked about the Moravians in a couple of minutes, so I thought I'd rectify that with a visit to what could be regarded as a lost settlement. I'm very low on images for this one, which is something I'm going to need to change eventually, but at least I can tell you a very interesting story.

Lititz, Lancaster County

I can't say for sure that creating an Instagram for the blog has definitely impacted the traffic. However, according to Blogger's stats, the numbers are much better than they were at this time last year, so at the absolute worst, the Instagram isn't hurting anything. Maybe these newfangled apps have their uses.

One thing that Instagram has definitely done, at least, is connect me with a lot of historical organizations across the state. The exciting part is that not only am I following them, but some of them are following me back! One of those, which is admittedly what kind of inspired me to do today's post, is the Lititz Historical Foundation. I've done all but one of the markers in Lititz, which was once voted the "Coolest Little Town in America," and by sheer happenstance the one remaining is the official marker of the community. I've only spent one day in Lititz, but I was completely delighted with it (apart from how cold it was, being late winter) and hope to go back.

Gemeinhaus, Bethlehem, Northampton County

I'm once again starting to run out of my stock of markers! I haven't had the opportunity to do a great deal of marker hunting this spring, though I'm hoping to get out next month and collect a few. My best friend Andrea and my sister Liza are both interested in accompanying me on an excursion to Concrete City up north, and I have a handful of other destinations on my radar, so we'll see how that goes.

For this week's quest, I'm venturing back to Moravian Bethlehem, one of my favorite historical places, and showing you around the beautiful Gemeinhaus. When I last had a visit from my dear friend Rachel, who moved out of state, she requested that we spend a day in Bethlehem, where she had grown up. I was more than happy to oblige, and she took me around several of the places she knew best. That included today's destination, where she used to work as a tour guide.

Nazareth, Northampton County

Well, the verdict is in - I've been battling an upper respiratory infection since the new year started. I'm doing much better now than I was these past two Wednesdays, and I'm easing myself back into the blogging saddle. I still have some lingering symptoms, so this update is a slow process.

I took the pictures in this blog post a few years ago when it was quite cold and the ground was covered with snow. As I write the post, it's actually even colder and, once again, the ground is covered in snow - meaning that the photos remain very accurate for the moment.

Daniel Brodhead and Dansbury Mission, Monroe County

Well, it's Wednesday, and you know what that means - besides the fact that my vacation is over, that is. (It was a very hot trip. But we had a great time; we visited ancient Mayan ruins, and I even held a sloth!)

This week I'm doing a double quest in the mountains of Monroe County. The two markers are in separate communities, so initially I thought they would each get their own post; but they are so connected that it made more sense to put them together.

I won't lie - this one was tricky to research. Google kept turning up results for the wrong person, or the wrong location, because of similar names. I think all my information is now correct, though, thanks in no small part to the resources of the Monroe County Historical Association. 

Moravian Gemeinhaus and Linden Hall, Lititz, Lancaster County

As I mentioned a while back, my little adventuring party spent a day this past February in scenic and historic Lititz. We had quite a pleasant experience, even though the borough was very quiet and many of its attractions were closed for the winter season, and I'm hoping to go back before the summer ends.

Lititz is a Moravian settlement at its roots, and while I will go into the history of the community itself when I talk about the actual Lititz marker, today we'll take a look at one of its most enduring institutions - a place where young women have been educated and given the keys to their future for almost 300 years.

Moravian Community, Bethlehem, Northampton County

Before we dive into this week's quest, I'd just like to draw your attention to something new. As of a few days ago, the blog now has its own dedicated Twitter account! I'm using it to follow assorted historical organizations and news outlets and to help spread the word about events and discoveries in the commonwealth. Of course, I'm also using it to promote the blog itself. So if you've got a Twitter, please give MarkerQuest a follow.

For this week, we're going to mosey back to beautiful downtown Bethlehem and take a look at the Moravian community.

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.

Old Chapel, Bethlehem, Northampton County

As of this writing, Moravian Bethlehem is still on the U.S. Tentative List to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you're not familiar with the term, these are locations around the world which have been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). They have been determined to be unique landmarks with distinctive geographic and historical identities, which have cultural significance "of outstanding value to humanity." Right now, Pennsylvania only has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites to its name - Independence Hall in Philadelphia and Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece outside of Pittsburgh - so if the Moravian Community is selected for the honor, it will become our third. It's a process that takes years; they've been working toward this since 2002. You can keep tabs on the whole thing here - it's very exciting! I have every intention of being there for whatever celebration they decide to have for the occasion.

Well, with all the explorations I've been doing of other counties, I realized that I haven't done a Moravian Bethlehem blog post all year. So I'd say we're way overdue. This one is a little more picture-heavy than some of my posts, because I just couldn't bring myself to stop at three like I usually do.

Whitefield House, Nazareth, Northampton County

It's an unexpectedly balmy day in April, which is sort of amusing. The temperatures lately have been quite up and down, but today they're up for the warmest day all year thus far. 

So, weird confession. Despite it being an entire twelve miles from where I currently live, until very recently I never visited downtown Nazareth. I've been in or through its outskirts, but never in the community proper. A few weeks ago, finding myself with an unexpected afternoon completely free, I made a spontaneous decision to correct this oversight and collect the markers that Nazareth has to offer. There was still snow on the ground, which looks funny to me now as I write this post.

Funny thing about Nazareth - although Bethlehem is the place around here that's always touted as being a big part of Moravian history (and rightfully so), Nazareth also has Moravian origins. Not only that, but Nazareth's Moravian origins are what led to Bethlehem's.

Heckewelder House and John Frederick Wolle, Bethlehem, Northampton County

November, which Louisa May Alcott once called "the most disagreeable month," is a little more than halfway done. It was actually snowing earlier, and I don't really care for that at all. But I'm a little bit warmed by the knowledge that I will soon be receiving something special in the mail - a proof copy of my newest book, my very first history book! You might say it's a MarkerQuest side quest, as it doesn't focus on the subject of a marker; it's a bit of Lehigh Valley apocrypha which has been all but forgotten, and I'm looking forward to reviewing it and approving it for distribution. I will probably be able to confirm the launch and provide a link by the next time I update the blog, so stay tuned!

Meanwhile, for today's post we'll take yet another trip into the Moravian heart of Bethlehem. I did not originally intend for this to be a two-marker quest, but as I was putting the pieces together I realized that it made sense. Although the two markers are for different subjects, they have something very significant in common, and writing about one without the other just didn't feel right.

Emmaus, Lehigh County

October is here, which means that this utterly bizarre year is slowly drawing to a close. I've been trying to get out and enjoy the autumn sunshine while I can - this is actually my favorite time of year, in most respects - but it isn't always easy.

A fun little sidebar for my readers, before we get into the meat of this week's post. If you weren't aware, the PHMC has its own channel on YouTube, where they share a lot of videos related to Pennsylvania history. I recently participated in their webinar about how markers are selected and created. It was hosted by Karen Galle, my direct contact in the organization, and you can watch it here. It was really very interesting! Thanks Karen!

Now, about today's marker - it's a first for this blog. The majority of communities don't have their own specific markers, as the markers are more likely written about a person or location within the community's borders. There are some which do, however, and our subject today is one of them. I deliberately chose to write about this one today because yesterday, if he were still with us, would have been my beloved grandfather's 90th birthday, and this particular community has a connection to our family tree.

Hilda Doolittle (H.D.), Bethlehem, Northampton County

I'm celebrating two birthdays this week, after a fashion. One is my own; we spent the day at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, which is currently hosting Madame Tussaud's wax figures of the Presidents (yes, all of them) as well as some other historic notables. This is a limited engagement, with restricted entrance due to you-know-what, and will only run until January 3rd of next year. I very much encourage my readers to go if you have the opportunity, because it was really awesome! We also spent part of the day running around gathering markers for this blog, because that's what we do when we go somewhere.

The other birthday takes place tomorrow. Poetry enthusiasts (like my friend Rachel, who first mentioned today's subject to me a few years ago) may already be aware that tomorrow will be the 134th birthday of one of the most unique voices of the 20th century.

Lafayette, Bethlehem, Northampton County

May is here, and it's actually starting to look like it where I live! Several of my neighbors have planted fields of canola, and it's a massive lift to the spirits to drive to the grocery store past fields of beautiful yellow flowers, stretching for acres. I'm so grateful to the farmers who decided to put in that crop.

I didn't know what to write for today's post. I'm actually starting to run out of my backlog of 'saved' subjects; I've done all of the markers I've collected for several counties. (That's not to say that those counties are done, just that I need more material from them.) My younger sister lives with us, and I remarked that today I needed to do a blog post. She wanted to know if I've written about bread yet, which as my longtime readers know, I have not. I've made bread - yesterday was my first attempt at homemade bread and it went very well; I have dubbed it "existential bread" because we joke that people are baking to stave off the sensations of existential dread. I'm probably not as funny as I think I am.

Anyway, I gave her two possible topics for today's post and she picked the one you're about to read. So it's partly because of Liza that we're learning about the Marquis de Lafayette.

The Unknown Soldier, Bethlehem, Northampton County

It's been a while since MarkerQuest went to Bethlehem, and I find myself missing it a little bit, so I thought that we'd welcome September (and celebrate my birthday) by heading back there. This is sort of a sequel to a previous post, which is always fun for me.

Last December, I talked about visiting the replica of the first house in Bethlehem, and how it was the place where the city received its name. In that post, I mentioned that the replica house includes a plaque related to soldiers buried on a nearby hillside, and how that's related to Bethlehem's very own Unknown Soldier, which is what I thought I would cover today.

David Tannenberg, Bethlehem, Northampton County

Once again I polled my Facebook followers to see which of two subjects they wanted me to cover this week. By a two-thirds margin, they voted for this one.

Burnside Plantation is a magnificent colonial estate nestled in a part of Bethlehem which, until I undertook this particular marker quest, I had never occasioned to visit. It's sort of tucked out of the way. The road leading to it branches off from Schoenersville Road, and this week's marker is found at the entrance.

Moravian Archives, Bethlehem, Northampton County

A special shout-out hello to Karen Galle, the director of the PHMC’s historical marker program, who recently emailed to say how much she's enjoying MarkerQuest! She suggested that I start including the county in the name of each blog post as well as the community, which makes sense to me, so thank you for the idea.

Words might be my bread and butter, but in today's post, I rely more heavily on photographs than I normally do. That's because it's sort of hard for me to adequately describe the treasures of the Moravian Archives.

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 First House, Bethlehem, Northampton County

Because of the shifted update schedule, this will be the final MarkerQuest adventure for 2018; and because it's the week leading up to Christmas, I've been saving this specific subject for this very moment. Bethlehem is, as the locals know, "the Christmas City." What a lot of people might not know is that this isn't just because it's called Bethlehem - it's because it was literally founded on Christmas Eve.