Historic Bethabara Park has a blend of archaeological sites, restored original buildings, and reconstructions. There are over 40 stabilized archaeological ruins throughout the park. Excavations done in the 1960s by Stanley South and a team of archaeologists further legitimized the study of American “new” or “processual” archaeology.
Reconstructions
“Reconstruction” is returning a damaged or demolished building to a known earlier state using new materials. Reconstructions include the 1754 Village, the Community and Medicinal Gardens, and the Palisade Fort.
Restored Original Buildings
“Restoration” is repair work to bring a building to a historically accurate condition from one particular time period. Many of the original buildings at Bethabara have been restored over time. In the 1960s, a Queen Anne style house previously owned by the Pough family was restored back to its colonial appearance. Now known as the “Log House,” it has been reinterpreted to its original 1834 appearance. Along with the Log House (1834), original buildings include the Gemeinhaus (1788), The Potter’s House (1782), and The Brewer’s House (1803).
1754 Reconstructed Village
1754 Reconstructed Village 1754 Reconstructed Village | The Palisade | The Log House | The Brewer’s House | The Potter’s House | The Gemeinhaus The village is a reconstruction of buildings erected in 1754 and 1755 by the first eleven Moravians who arrived on the...
The Brewer’s House
The Brewer's House 1754 Reconstructed Village | The Palisade | The Log House | The Brewer’s House | The Potter’s House | The Gemeinhaus “Our meals shall now be as follows: in the morning porridge, according to the weather...[and] brandy; at noon...barley-coffee, or...
The Palisade
The Palisade 1754 Reconstructed Village | The Palisade | The Log House | The Brewer's House | The Potter’s House | The Gemeinhaus As the English and French fought against one another for control of the North American continent, they enlisted Native American allies to...
The Potter’s House
The Potter's House 1754 Reconstructed Village | The Palisade | The Log House | The Brewer’s House | The Potter’s House | The Gemeinhaus “People gathered from 50 and 60 miles away to buy pottery, but many came in vain, as the supply was exhausted by noon. We...
The Log House
The Log House 1754 Reconstructed Village | The Palisade | The Log House | The Brewer’s House | The Potter’s House | The Gemeinhaus The Log House is significant because it represents the development of Bethabara during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. During...
The Gemeinhaus
The Gemeinhaus 1754 Reconstructed Village | The Palisade | The Log House | The Brewer’s House | The Potter’s House | The Gemeinhaus The 1788 Gemeinhaus Church, the last eighteenth-century German church with attached living quarters remaining in the United States,...