Wachovia, North Carolina
Wachovia /wɑːˈkoʊviə/ was the area settled by Moravians in what is now Forsyth County, North Carolina, US. Of the six eighteenth-century Moravian "villages of the Lord" established in Wachovia, today, the town of Bethania, North Carolina and city of Winston-Salem exist within the historic Wachovia tract. The Moravian Archives in Winston-Salem has a map of the original Wachovia tract, showing the approximate locations of the first six Moravian congregations and the approximate current boundaries of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.
Wachovia's early settlers were mostly German-speaking people who shared a common Germanic cultural background.
In 1752 Moravian Bishop August Gottlieb "Brother Joseph" Spangenberg led an expedition to locate the area where the Unitas Fratrum, or Moravian church, intended to begin the Wachovia settlements. Members of the Moravian Church in Europe purchased 98,985 acres (400.58 km2) of land in the backcountry (middle/western area) of North Carolina, from John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville. They named the 98,985-acre (400.58 km2) tract of land die Wachau, or "Wachovia," meaning "meadow of the Wach."
[The land in North Carolina was purchased on behalf of the Moravians by John Henry (Johann Heinrich) Antes who had also served as agent on behalf of the Moravians in the purchase of the 500-acre (2.0 km2) tract which became the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He also served as "Baumeister" ("Construction Manager") of the first buildings which still stand in Bethlehem's historic district. 4,000 acres (16 km2) were purchased by Johann Steinhauer, leader of the Moravian church in Riga, Latvia.]
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