God's Fields: Landscape, Religion, and Race in Moravian Wachovia (Cultural Heritage Studies)

The Moravian community of Salem, North Carolina, was founded in 1766, and the townthe hub of nearly 100,000 piedmont acres purchased thirteen years before and named Wachoviaquickly became the focal point for the churchs colonial presence in the South. While the brethren preached the unity of all humans under God, a careful analysis of the birth and growth of their Salem settlement reveals that the group gradually embraced the institutions of slavery and racial segregation in opposition to their religious beliefs. Although Salems still-active community includes one of the oldest African American congregations in the nation, the evidence contained in Gods Fields reveals that during much of the twentieth century, the churchs segregationist past was intentionally concealed. Leland Ferguson's work reconstructing this "secret history" through years of archaeological fieldwork was part of a historical preservation program that helped convince the Moravian Church in North America to formally apologize in 2006 for its participation in slavery and clear a way for racial reconciliation. Table of Contents vii 8 List of Figures ix 10 List of Tables xi 12 Foreword xiii 14 Acknowledgments xvii 18 1 A Beginning 1 24 2 St. Philips Archaeology 17 40 3 A Unity of Brethren 46 69 4 Landscape and Piety 66 89 5 A Town Built upon a Hillside 89 112 6 Strangers in the Land 102 125 7 “A Suitable Quarter” 117 140 8 A Disunity of Brethren 144 167 9 Grave Stories 177 200 10 “To Be Reconciled” 194 217 Appendix A 201 224 Appendix B 203 226 Appendix C 205 228 Glossary 209 232 A Note on Primary Sources and the Governance of the Unity of the Brethren 215 238 Notes 217 240 Bibliography 247 270 Index 259 282 A beginning St. Philips archaeology A unity of brethren Landscape and piety A town built upon a hillside Strangers in the land "A suitable quarter" A disunity of brethren (with Michele Hughes) Grave stories "To be reconciled" Appendix A. St. Philips Church joins Salem Congregation Appendix B. Burials in the Salem Strangers' parish God's acre Appendix C. Burials in the African American graveyard.