My Genealogy Hound

THE SUN INN. This building is one of the most ancient in Pennsylvania, and its history contains much that will interest and instruct the thoughtful reader. Briefly, therefore, we give in outline some of the events with which its name is connected and record for posterity its eventful history. For the facts contained herein, we are indebted to the author of the “Old Moravian Sun Inn,” an interesting pamphlet published in 1893. When the Moravians commenced the building of Bethlehem in the spring of 1741, and for a number of years thereafter, such was their remoteness from the routes of travel in southeastern Pennsylvania, that an inn was an unnecessary luxury. However, as time passed by, a strong tide of emigration set in from the more populous parts of the province, and also from other lands across the ocean. Roads were opened, clearings made, farms sprang up, and houses began to dot the hillsides. Bethlehem, situated on the through line from New York to Baltimore and the Carolinas, became a point in the ever increasing artery of travel, and it thus became necessary to erect a suitable inn.

In July of 1754, the matter was given into the hands of a committee for consideration, and they decided upon a site “situate on the road leading to the tile-kiln, and opposite the Manockasy and the quarry.” The Indian War of 1755 caused the Moravians to abandon temporarily their hotel enterprise. Finally, in 1757, preparatory steps were taken toward the building of an inn the ensuing spring. Little by little the work progressed, and finally the structure was completed. March 24, 1760, Peter and Ann Mary Worbas occupied apartments in the house, and in the ensuing June filed an application with the court to secure a permit to entertain travelers and to sell beer and cider. On the 24th of September, 1760, the first travelers were entertained at the inn.

The year 1762 is memorable in the history of the Moravians in Pennsylvania as marking an important change in their social polity. It was then that the Bethlehem Economy was dissolved; whereas during its existence all the members of the society had contributed their labor toward the commonwealth, certain branches of industry only were hereafter conducted for the support of its enterprises by specially appointed agents, who were amenable to the chief proprietor of the Moravian estates. Among these were several trades, four farms and the Sun Inn. For the latter a new epoch in its history was opened by this change. Its name was changed from the “House of Entertainment” to the “Sun Inn,” and, emblematic of its new cognomen, there appeared upon its sign-board, in June, 1764, a sun in the splendor of noonday.

About 1771, owing to a division of the estates and possessions of the Moravian Church, the Sun Inn passed into the hands of the Stewards of the Society of Bethlehem, and for the following seventy-five years it was conducted solely for the benefit of that body, at first by salaried agents, and after 1830 by tenants. Many noted men and women have at various times been entertained at this old house. In September, 1772, General Gage and his family were among its guests, and in May, 1773, Gov. Richard Penn was there entertained. Gov. John Penn was several times a guest of the inn. November 28, 1801, Gen. Charles Lee stopped at the “Sun” for dinner. The register of the “Sun” has this entry: “Gen. Lee, six horses and four servants. Five dinners, one bottle of Madeira, five quarts of beer and five and one-quarter pints of brandy.”

The quiet of the little Moravian settlement was disturbed by the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, and from that time until the close of the conflict Bethlehem did its share toward the success of the Colonists. September 11, 1777, was fought the bloody battle of Brandywine, after which the military stores of the army were hurried inland from French Creek. On the 19th, a note was received by Rev. Mr. Ettwein, of Bethlehem, stating that by order of Congress the sick and wounded soldiers were to be brought to Bethlehem for proper care. The following day the village was crowded with civilians and soldiers, and soon the sick and wounded arrived. Among the latter was General La Fayette, attended by his suite, and General Woodford and Colonel Armstrong. The Continental Congress was represented by some of its most prominent members, including John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Henry Laurens and Charles Thomson. The inn was crowded to its utmost capacity, and private houses were also converted into hospitals for the wounded soldiers.

In the autumn of 1785 a boarding school for young ladies was established in Bethlehem, after which the inn gained a new and aristocratic patronage, and on commencement day, year after year, its rooms were thronged with gay and happy guests. Of recent years it has been entirely remodeled and considerably enlarged, but the old building, with its massive walls and interior arrangements, is substantially the same as when first opened. Steam heat, electric lights and other improvements of modern times are to be found there, and guests are sure of the most courteous and hospitable entertainment. In March, 1868, the present proprietor, Charles Brodhead, purchased the inn for $50,000. It is now, as it long has been, a favorite place of sojourn for summer tourists, commercial and business men.

Could the walls of this old structure speak, what an interesting tale they would tell of the great men and women who theresojourned; of Lady Washington, once a guest there; of George Washington, who in July of 1782, was welcomed there with due honor; of many noted men and women, long since dead, who once gathered beneath its roof, sat at its tables and lingered in pleasant converse over its hospitable board. Gone are those days, and those illustrious men who made the history of America during the infancy of the Colonies; but though they are gone, the old building still stands, a monument of a memorable past and the heritage of the present generation from their forefathers.