The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-08-29
OLD TOWN, 1zss.1ses.
fhe Oldest Moravian settIAh,.n.
North Carolina.

The Oldest Morayian settlehen, ,n
worth Carolina.
And ever upon old decav
Inc greenest MOSES clinS.n
l thought as I knelt and brnsbed
away the leaves and earth. from AZ
llstie square of sand stone, that mark.
Gu Gne Oldest grave in the gravevard
az bethaDara, or Old Town. It was
Inat OF little girl, and when the stone
was as elean as l could get It, the
;md;st;a he ana date were discernible, but
Anna Marian
Opizin,
1857.
al had used a stick to help me up tho
,,n, wien Is really almost a small
mounta!n, upon the top of which is tho
Oldest Moravian graveyard south 90 90 the the
Mason'and Dixon line. The ascent 10 sSo so
steep that when there is funeral f the 9
conn Is carried up in sheet. unless H.
ne very small, and then four men carry "
ltby hand. had come to Old TnwSS
| with a party of friends to Snndau
school picnic, and found so much that
was interesting and old that / thoupht
perhaps the readers of the Citizen
Sn;sh5 @ouiu ilKe tae TO hear something of this
" SIo LOWn.
Inc Moravians, of PENNSYLVANIA. pa.
ceived grant from the earl of CO. ,o
vile, an English nobleman. for twenty
MSnousand M acres of land in the state Gf
i,,;Is' MGrIn Carolina, for the purpose of
building settlement there. This ,yos
In the early part of 1853. ""'
Alter much deliberation the north
ern colony sent out twelve single
or. 2retnren n, to fix upon suitable localitv.
,nns mne caoice OF twenty thousand acres
WAS, was lelt TO them. After many weary
o" meoRs OF iruitless journeying, they
ot"G 90 @ W @Oid Iown, then forest, lust
fa.ing co. n,ghtlall on September 10th, 1753,
Iatigued and disheartened; they here
took refuge from threatening storm
III T nut built OF rough logs.
:, Inc next day thew looked about
saei snem and decided that this was the
oeslred haven. Here thew settled and
under many difficulties the COLONY ora.
dually increased, though it was never
quite as extensive as the several neiyh-
boring settlements which afterwards
sprung into existence.
Ihe village now consists of one
sore9t, the church and five or six
dwellings,, built like the houses in the
"Moederland," on tho one side. and y
beautiful field of oats on the other.
The church is of brick covered with
tnlck cement, and is under the same
root win the parsonage, as are many
Old churches in these old German set
Elements. The windows are deep with
very heavy sash, and in lieu of blinds
or shutters have plain white muslin
curtains fastened in place with twine.
Inc pulpit is high and old-fashioned,
and up in the narrow gallery which
ex' 9ua' across one end of the church,
arc peep holes" one at each side,
placed there for the organist and choir
to look through during the service.
am sorry to say that the organ is
no more. 1t was built entirely of wood
and the organist sat sidewise to the
preacher, and the organ was pumped
from the other side of the gallery, by
the different boys in the church, who
had regular turns for this duty. Down
under the church is a deop cellar,
which is, somo of the girls said, Gas
dark as Egypt" and SO cool This was
built SO that the pastor could store
Of it. Would that our pastors had a
like use for cellars
Though IT is perhaps better as it is
for the early pastors at Old Town were
paid first in provisions and old clothes,
later on In tobacco, and still later in
Whiskey. Every man then had his
still house as well as his barn.
Back from the parsonage is church
kitchen with q furnace and large
kettle, This is where,the "Love Feast"
coffee is made, all the other necessary
vessels are kept here also. Only those
who have attended one of the sweetly
solemn festivals can appreciate the old
custom. Since have been here I have
attended four.
Just outside the church under the
shade of a large tree but quite near the
church wall is large marble slab with
the dates Sept. 10Th, 1853, and Nov.
2lst, 1917. The first date has already
been mentioned, and the second is that
OF the building of the present church.
The bell in the old belfry was made in
Germany 1898, and has very sweet,
clear tone. Whata tale of faithfulness
1T tells with every stroke.
How hard these early Christians had
to toll, what hardships endure, what
sacrifices make, in order to make their
house of worship all that it should be.
There are still other interesting
things that might be written of, but
for fear weary you lay aside my pen
and trust that you we're for a few
moments at least interested in "Old
Town." quaint village Of the cold
North State. te."-Waynesboro True Citi-
zen.
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