This column is the first of a year-long series of columns, written by Ken Raniere and Karen M. Samuels, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of the Borough of South Bethlehem on Aug. 21, 1865. The series starts with the arrival of the Moravians in Bethlehem, then will cover the history of South Bethlehem to the present day.

In 1741, Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf purchased a 500-acre tract of land, at the junction of the Monocacy Creek and the Lehigh River, which would become Bethlehem, the center of the American missionary enterprise. For the first 20 years of the fledgling settlement, the Moravians organized themselves into a commune to accomplish their goal of supporting their missionaries.

Under the efficient and adroit leadership of Bishop Augustus G. Spangenberg, they established several farms and 32 industries by 1749. The Moravian Brethren, in their desire to protect the privacy of the congregation and limit interaction with other faiths, purchased several tracts of land on the south side of the Lehigh River.

During the years following the Revolutionary War, the town of Bethlehem continued to grow. Between 1820 and 1840, 45 new buildings were erected. The dirt streets of Market, Broad and New streets were extended during these years.

The opening of the Lehigh Canal, in 1829, brought an increase in population and economic opportunities to Bethlehem; however, it also brought non-Moravians to the town. At this time, the grandsons of the original Moravian families were in charge of Bethlehem and the majority of them believed that conducting business with outsiders would bring prosperity to Bethlehem.

The financial burden for the Bethlehem Moravian Church also grew. In 1841 the Lehigh River flooded and destroyed the industry along its banks. The bridge was washed away and the Lehigh Canal was so damaged that boat traffic was cut in half. The Moravian Church in Europe was suffering financial problems and could not assist Bethlehem in this crisis.

On Jan. 11, 1844, the Moravian Congregation Council ended the lease system leaving the town of 1,050 residents temporarily in a period of transition. The Moravian Church had governed the town for the past 100 years. Of the 1,050 residents, 808 were members of the Moravian Church. This was a turning point for Bethlehem as it was about to become a typical American borough. It also laid the seeds for the development of South Bethlehem when the congregation decided to sell their 274-acre tract of land south of the Lehigh River.

Asa Packer, a wealthy canal boatyard operator, construction contractor and coal mine owner, saw the railroad as an improvement over the canal system. When the canals froze in winter they were unusable. In 1852, he bought up the majority of the stock in Delaware Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad and provided the leadership to make it a successful operation.

Around this time DLS&S changed its name to the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Asa Packer chose South Bethlehem as the best location to control the operation of the railroad. It was perfectly situated between Philadelphia and New York.

Before the railroad came into South Bethlehem, there were only a handful of buildings in the area. Once the railroad was in place, manufacturers, attracted to the natural resources of the Lehigh Valley, began building plants nearby. In 1853, Samuel Wetherill erected zinc oxide furnaces on the south side of the Lehigh River for his Pennsylvania and Lehigh Zinc Company. Within the year, Wetherill, his brother Charles and associates bought the controlling interest in the company.

In 1863, the Bethlehem Iron Company completed its first blast furnace and rolling mill, next door. Ten years later, the enterprise was the first in the United States to use the Bessemer system to produce steel. In 1889, Bethlehem Iron Company accepted contracts from the U. S. Navy. The company was reorganized as the Bethlehem Steel Company in 1899.

In these early years of industry in South Bethlehem, the Moravian business leaders help to lead and fund many of the enterprises. Some of the prominent Moravians were Charles A. Luckenbach and Charles Brodhead, who helped to sell the old Moravian farms that became the location of South Bethlehem.

Brodhead convinced Augustus Wolle to build the Bethlehem Iron Company (later to become Bethlehem Steel Corporation) near the junction of Lehigh Valley and North Penn Railroads. Ashton Borhek's Coal and Lumber business provided the materials to build the first structures in South Bethlehem. Other Moravian led industry that arose included the Abbott & Cortright Foundry in 1857, B. E. Lehman's Lehigh Valley Brass Works, built in 1863 and Thomas Weis' South Bethlehem Shovel Company (1871).

No one could have predicted that the location, available natural resources, emerging technology and enthusiastic immigrant populations would place South Bethlehem in the forefront of national and global importance in the twentieth century.