Wachovia, North Carolina
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Wachovia (Pronunciation: wah-KO-vee-yah) was the area first settled by Moravians in what is now Forsyth County, North Carolina and includes the present historic town of Bethania, North Carolina and city of Winston-Salem.
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[edit] History
Wachovia early settlers were mostly German-speaking people who shared a common Germanic cultural background.
Members of the Moravian Church in Europe purchased roughly 100,000 acres (400 km²) of land in the Backcountry (middle/western area) of North Carolina, from John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville. They named the tract of land die Wachau, or "Wachovia". In 1752 Moravian Bishop August Gottlieb "Brother Joseph" Spangenberg led the expedition to locate the area where the Unitas Fratrum, or Moravian church, intended to begin the Wachovia settlements.
Twelve Single (unmarried) Moravian Brethren travelling from Pennsylvania, most from the Christiansbrunn farm near Nazareth, arrived in Wachovia in 1753, forming Bethabara, in Hebrew meaning "House of Passage", a transitional congregational settlement founded November 17, 1753. During the French and Indian War (1754–1763), a wooden stockade was built around the central-most area of the Moravian settlement, and Bethabara became a place of refuge for settlers from across the region, with many refugees living near the Bethabara Mill.
The name "Wachovia" is the Latin form of the German "die Wachau," the name of a lush green region along the Danube River, also in honor of Count Zinzendorf, Moravian patron and bishop whose family estate in was located in that region in Europe. The Moravians most likely felt that the landscape in the Backcountry of North Carolina resembled the region in central Europe, with nearby mountains; local waterways including the Dan River, the Yadkin River, Town Fork Creek and three forks of Muddy Creek; and fertile land with abundant forest.
Over time, the 98,985 acre Wachovia Tract was redrawn into counties as the Backcountry of North Carolina became increasingly populated:
- 1753 Rowan County.
- 1771 Surry County.
- 1789 Stokes County.
- 1849 Forsyth County was drawn out of what had been the southern half of Stokes County.
The first planned Moravian settlement in Wachovia was Bethania, North Carolina formed June 12, (1759), also known historically as Bethany. The Town of Bethania, North Carolina was incorporated 1995, sparing annexation into the city of Winston-Salem. In 2007, Historic Bethania, a visitor center and museum, opened, providing information and historical interpretation in yet another Wachovia Moravian community.
The central administrative congregational town of Salem, which can be visited presently in Old Salem Museums and Gardens. Salem was begun in 1766(formally organized in 1771), and was built by Moravians and friends from Bethabara and Bethania.
Subsequent Moravian congregational settlements to be formed include Friedberg (1769), Friedland (1772), and Hope (1775). The congregation at Hope was the first "English" Moravian church in the area.
A secular county seat was founded in 1849 in newly drawn Forsyth County, north of Salem. Winston was the name eventually, given to the new county seat. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, maker of Winston and Salem, and Camel cigarettes, was founded at Winston in 1875. The towns of Salem and Winston merged as Winston-Salem in 1913. "Winston" and "Salem" were once also referred to as "Salem-Winston." Bethabara now lies within the city limits of Winston-Salem, and can be visited today in Historic Bethabara Park, operated by the city of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.
[edit] Museums
Historic Bethabara Park, Historic Bethania, and Old Salem Museums and Gardens are museums which serve to transport visitors in time to what was once Wachovia. The museums each contribute to the story of Moravians in North Carolina, and preserve, interpret, and demonstrate life in Wachovia over time.
[edit] Wachovia corporation
The area is the namesake and birthplace of the Wachovia corporation, one of the world's largest banks. Salem, then Winston-Salem was the corporate headquarters for the bank until its merger with the First Union corporation, when the headquarters was moved to Charlotte, North Carolina.
[edit] Linguistic note
Present day students and scholars who are not familiar with the German language frequently, albeit incorrectly, use a masculine article "der" to modify "Wachau," when the feminine article "die" should be used. When speaking of "Wachovia" as a place, the proper title in German is "die Wachau." When speaking of "Wachau" in a transitive sense, such as "in the Wachau," the article becomes dative and written as "in der Wachau." Many individuals and organizations have seen the dative phrase and have irresponsibly and unknowingly dropped the preposition, leaving "...der Wachau," which is glaringly wrong when used as a proper noun. The feminine gender of "die Wachau" does not change, even though the case might.
[edit] See also
- Adelaide Fries- author of the 1907 The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence As Mentioned in the Records of Wachovia.
[edit] Notes and references
[edit] External links
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