Bark Shed

Bark Shed (HMHVZ)

Location: Bethlehem, PA 18018 Northampton County
Buy Pennsylvania State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 40° 37.161', W 75° 22.988'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 408 views
Inscription

1766

"...16 of our Brethren, who are to go to Upper Places[?] to peel bark for our tanner, had lovefeast."
Single Brethren's Diary
April 16, 1757

The large forest located north of early Bethlehem contained great quantities of bark needed to produce the tannic acid used in tanning leather. While colonial tanners preferred black oak and hemlock bark, records show that the Moravians used mostly oak which gave the leather its distinctive reddish-brown color.

The Moravians chopped down the trees in the spring. They stripped off the bark, dried it, and hauled it back to Bethlehem where they stored it in bark sheds. These sheds were made of timber construction like the one pictured here built near this location around 1766. Inventories state that about 100 cords of bark were on hand at one time.

The bark was then ground fine using very large stones turned by animal power. In 1765, a water-powered bark grinding mill was included in the design of the new oil mill, a technological advance in the tanning process.

[The Bark Shed has not been reconstructed as of early 2010]

[Marker is damaged and defaced]
Details
HM NumberHMHVZ
Tags
Placed ByHistoric Bethlehem, HistoryWorks!, and Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Tuesday, October 7th, 2014 at 11:06am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18T E 467593 N 4496573
Decimal Degrees40.61935000, -75.38313333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 40° 37.161', W 75° 22.988'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds40° 37' 9.66" N, 75° 22' 59.28" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)267, 610, 484
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 1 Ohio Rd, Bethlehem PA 18018, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Nearby Markersshow on map
Oil Mill
0.02 miles
Waterworks
0.02 miles
Old Waterworks
0.02 miles
Colonial Industrial Quarter
0.03 miles
Tawery
0.03 miles
Pottery
0.04 miles
Smith Complex
0.04 miles
Springhouse
0.05 miles
First House of Moravian Settlement
0.06 miles
West Hall
0.06 miles
Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. This marker needs at least one picture.
  10. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  11. Is the marker in the median?