Wachovia was the area settled by Moravians in what is now Forsyth County,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, US. Of the six 18th century Moravian "villages of the Lord" established in Wachovia, today the town of Bethania and city of

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

exist within the historic Wachovia tract. The historical tract was somewhat larger than present-day Winston-Salem and somewhat smaller than present-day Forsyth County.

History

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 of land in the backcountry (middle/western area) of

, from

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark, (; 22 April 16902 January 1763), commonly known by his earlier title Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763; he worked extremely close ...

. 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 tract which became the city of

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

. He also served as ''Baumeister'' ("construction manager") of the first buildings which still stand in Bethlehem's historic district. were purchased by

Johann Steinhauer Johann Steinhauer ( lv, Jānis Šteinhauers, born Jānis Akmeņkalis; 19 January 1705 – 21 February 1779) was a Latvian entrepreneur, social reformer and landowner, who made significant contributions to the Latvian civil rights throughout the ...

, leader of the Moravian church in Riga, Latvia. "Wachovia" is a Latinized form of the German name ''

Wachau The Wachau () is an Austrian valley with a picturesque landscape formed by the Danube river. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations of Lower Austria, located midway between the towns of Melk and Krems that also attracts "connois ...

''. It was chosen as the name of the North Carolina Moravian tract to honor Count Zinzendorf, Moravian patron and bishop whose family estate was located in the Wachau region northwest of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, along the

Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

between the towns of

Melk Melk (; older spelling: ) is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube. Melk has a population of 5,257 (as of 2012). It is best known as the site of a massive baroque Benedictine monastery ...

and Krems. Bishop Spangenberg and the surveying team in 1752 strayed into the mountains of western North Carolina, coming down through what is now Wilkes County (viz. " Moravian Falls" etc.) on their way to the Three Forks of Muddy Creek. It was this mountainous landscape in the Carolina back country along the

Catawba Catawba may refer to: *Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas *Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family *Catawban languages Botany *Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other N ...

, Little,

New New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

and

Yadkin River The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in North Carolina, flowing . It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill Overlook. Several parts of the river are impounded by dams for water, p ...

s that suggested the Wachau region in Lower Austria.''Records of the Moravians in North Carolina'', vol. 1, pp. 25-69. Twelve Moravian Single Brethren traveling from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, 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. In July 1756, during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

(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, numbering 120 by May 1759. The first planned Moravian settlement, and oldest incorporated municipality in Wachovia is

Bethania, North Carolina Bethania is the oldest municipality in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and was most recently incorporated in 1995, upon the reactivation of the original 1838/1839 town charter. In 2009, Bethania celebrated the 250th anniversary of ...

formed June 12, (1759), also known historically as Bethany, meaning in the Hebrew language, "house/place of dates and figs." ''Bethania'' is the German form of ''Bethany''. The Town of

was incorporated 1995, following the reactivation of Bethania's 1838/1839 town charter, and was spared from being annexed into the city of

. Today, Bethania remains the only independent, continuously active Moravian town in the southern United States. In 2007, Historic Bethania, a visitor center and museum, opened in Bethania, providing information and historical interpretation in yet another Wachovia Moravian community. Wachovia's 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 given to the new county seat in 1852. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, maker of Winston, Salem and Camel cigarettes, was founded at Winston in 1875. The towns of Salem and Winston merged as

in 1913. Bethabara now lies within the city limits of Winston-Salem, and can be visited today in

Historic Bethabara Park History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, operated by the city of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. Over time, the Wachovia Tract was redrawn into the following 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.

Museums

, Historic Bethania, and Old Salem Museums and Gardens are museums which serve to transport visitors in time to what Wachovia once was. The museums each contribute to the story of Moravians in North Carolina, and preserve, interpret, and demonstrate life in Wachovia over time.

Wachovia Corporation

Wachovia Loan And Trust Company Building

The area is the namesake and birthplace of

Wachovia Corporation Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total asse ...

, once one of the world's largest

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

s. The bank was pioneered by Bethanian I.G. Loesch. Salem, then Winston-Salem, was the corporate headquarters for the bank until its merger with the

First Union First Union Corporation was a bank holding company that provided commercial and retail banking services in eleven states in the eastern U.S. First Union also provided various other financial services, including mortgage banking, credit card, inv ...

corporation, when the headquarters was moved to

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

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, as historically documented. When speaking of "Wachovia" as a place, the proper title in German is "die Wachau". When speaking of "Wachau" in a locative sense, such as "in the Wachau," the

article Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

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 incorrect when used as a proper noun. The feminine gender of "die Wachau" does not change, though the case might.

References

External links