Gemeinhaus-Lewis David De Schweinitz Residence - Bethlehem PA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The Gemeinhaus is the oledest structure still standing in Bethlehem, PA. It was constructed in 1733 and owned by the Moravian Church. It is an example of Moravian architecture in the US. The building contains a chapel, twelve rooms and two dormitories. It was a residence for Moravian Church officials and their families. It is now a musuem. It is little changed since the 19th century.

Lewis David de Schweinitz was born in the Gemeinhaus in 1780. In addition to his church responsibilities he became an accomplished botanist. This was accomplished at a time in America when there was not an professional scientific community and science pursuits were a secondary avocation that was supported by a primary means of making a living. In his case it was the Monrovian Church.

Street address: W. Church St Bethlehem, PA County / Borough / Parish: Northampton Year listed: 1975 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Person, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1825-1849, 1800-1824, 1750-1799 Historic function: Religion Current function: Recreation And Culture Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] National Historic Landmark Link: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 1: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/30/2014 NorStar visited it