Springhouse
1764
In 1747, the Moravians fenced in the spring to keep out domestic animals and fowl. Early recoreds also state that one a year, two men were assigned to clean the spring “by the light of the moon.”
A bountiful spring was one of the reasons why in 1741, the Moravians chose to settle where the Monocacy Creek jointed the Lehigh River. The spring flowed at the rate of more than 1 million gallons of potable water per day and it never dried up or froze over.
Over the years, the Moravians constructed various kinds of enclosures around the spring to protect it from dirt and animals. After a permanent springhouse was built, it was used to store vegetables and dairy products such as cheese and butter. The current timber springhouse is a reconstruction of the kind that stood here in 1764.
The spring served as Bethlehem's water supply until 1912 when it was found to be contaminated.
[Caption for photo on marker]
The springhouse helped Moravian families in early Bethlehem to preserve perishable foods. By the late 1800s, the springhouse had been converted to commercial uses.
[Marker is damaged]
Courtesy hmdb.org
