Starting our tour at the "Moravian Museum of Bethlehem - 1741 Gemeinhaus" we learned about the industrious and comparatively forward-thinking Moravian Community at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Our tour guide was a practicing Moravian since moving to Bethlehem in the 1970's and was happy to answer all of our questions. At the Moravian Blacksmith Shop (which is a reconstruction) a blacksmith demonstrated for visitors the process and skills of the trade during the 18th century. As we visited on Saturday, July 3rd, 2021 the town was really bustling with activity, though not overly busy.

The early years of the Moravians in Bethlehem were defined by communal living. The primary purpose of the community was their missionary work. Their progressive educational system and medicinal practices became well-known and were even put to use to treat an injured Marquis de Lafayette in September 1777, who recuperated at the Sun Inn, located on Main Street just North of the Moravian Bethlehem Welcome Center. We enjoyed walking Church Street, the Moravian College grounds, God's Acre, Main Street, and the Colonial Industrial Quarter adjacent to the Monocacy Creek. We spent about 3 hours and then visited the nearby SteelStacks. 

As a transnational site, I feel the original WHS is greatly enhanced. The Historic Moravian Bethlehem District in Pennsylvania is the first historic district inscribed in the United States.