Historic Bethabara Park (US)
Begin your visit to Winston Salem at the place where it all began. Visit Historic Bethabara Park for an imaginative journey to the Carolina backcountry of 250 years ago. A small group of Moravians settled this religious village and trade center in an 18th-century wilderness, full of bears, wolves, Indians and outlaws.
Historic Bethabara Park is the 1753 site of the first Moravian Settlement in North Carolina. Moravians are German Pietists, who trace their origins to the Bohemian Priest, Jan Hus, martyred in 1415.
Today's Bethabara evokes this era. A National Historic Landmark, this 1753 site of the German-speaking, Protestant settlement nestles in a picturesque, wooded 183-acre wildlife preserve with 126 species of birds.
Visit the Edwin L. Stockton Visitor Center Gift Shop to purchase hand-crafted Moravian, colonial and natural history treasures and mementos.
The museum features a unique, restored and furnished 1788 church, archaeological ruins, Visitor Center with introductory video, exhibits and tours with costumed guides, as well as a reconstructed village, French and Indian War fort and colonial and medical gardens.
Explore 20 miles of nature trails, go to the mill site, observe wildlife from two observation docks over the beaver pond. Spot otters, mink, foxes, deer, and woodchucks.