Journal, 1787 June 18-September 4.

2 The town of Bethlehem lies No & So. 1700 feet lon[g] & 130 feet broad, situated on a beautiful hill with a gradual descent down to the River Leheigh on which is a saw mill & to Manoks creek on which there is a grist, an oyl, one for grinding bark for tanning on the lowest ground & a water mill which raises the water 100 feet & supplies by 4 pipe the whole town as also a Farm, they are admirably well constructed. The mills & houses are all [substan...] built of Stone, of which they have seperate ranges for the Brethren, the Sisters the widows the widowers, the children, with a [sho...] the congregational house 140 feet long the So. wing 100 feet broad, & those 3 & 4 Storey high, a Publick House, Store well stocked with goods, also houses for artists workmen &c of two storey, ([the?] produce & profits of all come into the common stock), interspersed between the streets & houses with Gardens, avenues of trees clumps & — surrounded by 6 farms (on each of which are 5 or 6 Labourers) the Society receiving 1/3 of the annual produce, the sixth farm they cultivate themselves ^having 100 Acres in grain^ the farm yard at the head of the town in which are excellent ranges of stables, 16 ^working^ horses Cowhouses, 60 cows, make 50 lb butter at a time, Barns, wash houses, tan houses, with every ?? requisites for utility & use, the whole consisting of 4000 Acres of land, the whole^ and^ exhibiting a rich & beautiful prospect bounded to the North by the blue mountain 11 miles distant & on the South by oley hills or the South Mountain 4 miles distance the Inhabitants of the town are of [different?] occupation, as Carpenters Millwrights Tanners black & Lock Smiths, Clock makers. ^Shoe makers^ [??] Carters of

3 Iron & all busy & active, within 3 miles is [Misseleeson?] forge on the creek where they cast Iron & make Barrs thereof; they have a singular burying ground of 3 Acres, bone & Corpes house, on which are regular rows of graves arranged thus [drawing] on which are inscriptions, they had but 4 burials the last 8 months [insertion: & those old] They have a Bishop named John Edwins & three Ministers, the Moravian Society doth not encrease here, haveing but 60 families 80 Brethren 150 Sisters, 30 odd Widows, 12 widowers & 80 Children who live in seperate houses, that are airey & clean, the whole Society about 600 Souls (at Nazareth 12 miles off they have a larger Society thriving & much admired) they have service performed every morning in the seperate houses the principal of which have Orgain at 1/2 past 7 in the evening they [deletion: have] all meet & Services performed with great Solemnity, -- arrainged seperately on 12 formes deep & two lengths, a well toned orgain; singing harmonious[gap] the room surrounded with 12 pictures, representing the life of Christ from Nativity to Ascension & in a long room the heads of a great number of their most celebrated worthies. The Sisters are in seperate neat rooms 3 or 4 beds in a room 2 to each where they spin knit & work, one room for finer work such as Embroidery tambour needle work & they weave Linnen wollen lawn &c. the Society are regular Sistematical, serious if not gloomy yet appear perfectly content & happy. Their situation is Inchanting, their morals pure. Their deportment easy & modest dress plain & cleanly, manners meek & amicable representing a striking appearance of harmonious primitive simplicity, the Society have all

4

a common interest in their work, their labour & their produce, have many that visit & purchase their manufactures which are remarkably strong, but they ask & have a very high price for every article. The sun tavern hath 4 room[s?] on a floor, on the second 4 beds in each, with good attick stories that is sometimes occupied by strange[?] good entertainment, & in the Season a profus[?] of [deletion] wood Strawberries. Vide plan & perspect[v?] view of the Town.

June 21 - - - At 5 P. M. went the mountain road to Allens town, the road hilly & rockey, here & there a farm - about 70 houses in the town mostly Log, a Church & few houses of stone - Land waving, some meadow, farms in good order; crossed the River Leheigh

22 - - - To [sign?] Gen Washington, good road, many large & well cultivated farms, much level & meadow land, tho 1/3 appeared in ruinate, with low shrubs, called the Barrens, yet good corn land. here is a Church & the head of big spring - - -

--- To Kutztown a good road for the most part level; the soil sand or gravel united with red loam, good wheat land but not for Rye. good farms on each side the road. town 27 Log houses, some of 2 storey, within 3 miles is Missilum forge, where Cast & barr Iron is manufact

- - - To Reading, the road good, for the most part level, with shade of trees on each side, within which are good [8?]

5 farms. Reading town is scituated 82 within 1/4 mile of the Schuylkill a neat town, good Society, about 500 houses, mostly brick on stone, (counted the warmest town in the State) this town in the County of Berks was in 1783 erected a Borough town of Reading & being a fruitful country has encreased rapidly, supposed to contain 2700 inhabitants ___ 17

June 23 ___ To Middle town, the road good timber large, with good farms on each side the Road a few Log houses some of 2 Stories, a Luthn German Chruch, 3 miles off 14

--- To Miers's town, the land still improving, good road, here & there rockey the town consists of between 30 & 40 Log houses is about 1/2 mile from Talpohocken Creek __ 7

___ To Lebanon town a good road, some part stoney good soil & good farms, about 140 houses brick framed & Log, a German Luther & a Prespeterian Church & a Market situated on the North of Quicophellia creek on which are several mills ___ 7

___ To Millers town the road good with good farms skirted with wood, about 30 houses, tress Oak Locust Walnut maple land sells from 6 to 10 £ the Acre ___ 10

24 ___ To Humblestown good road about 40 houses, Land from 3 to 20 £ the acre. just as came out of town crossed Swataro Creek, which in Europe would be deemed a considerable River & on which are several Mills ___ 7

Stopped at Jor Grays farm for a feed of oats for the horses, which the farmer 144

6 went to furnish Oates, being Sunday morning, I began to shave, for shifting Linnen, the farmer came in with an attitude of surprise & amasement, saying had he been there he would not have suffered a profanation of the day, I told him, it was unusual with me, but the fateegue of the past day was the occasion, with great difficulty I at length pacified him, when breakfasted with the family, on bread & milk they had also boiled indian corn, he said grace or a rather a short & well composed prayre before & after meal & in better language than I would have expected. I shortly after saw several people ride towards his house. Accidentilly meeting with Able James, he informed me, that in Lancaster & for 10 miles round, it is said there are upwards of 6000 Menoists or Annababtists who have 10 Churches. In Dauphen County that hath lately been separated from the County of Lancaster there are 2 or 3000 who have six places of worship & that they consist of the most reputable farmers, many of whom have service in their own houses. many of fortune & character officiating themselves & receive their neighbours, there are also many Dunkers. they are a sober industrious sett of people & many of their tenets correspond with the Quakers

From Philadelphia to the Susquhanah the farmers are for the most part Germans & at many publick houses on the road, the English seldom spoken, at times stood in need of a Linguister, but on crossing the River, there are many Irish much given to drink who are