Two hundred fifty years ago in 1766, a small group of women and girls migrated on foot from the Moravian School for Girls in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to open a new school for girls in Salem, North Carolina.

Of the 20 walkers, there were twelve girls aged 13 to 17. One of those girls, Salome Meurer, kept a detailed journal of her travels. And this week, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Salem Academy and College, a small group of women began a similar month-long walk from Bethlehem to Salem, using Salome’s journal to recreate their journey.

Before they left from Bethlehem, these historic reenactors took time to meet with our second and seventh-grade classes, both of whom study Moravian history as a part of their curriculum. They shared their research process, what they learned about our educational ancestors, and what it means to them to bring history to life in this way. They also shared the stories of those who walked 250 years ago, including Salome, age 16 (you can read a translation of her journal here), Elizabeth Oesterlein, age 17, who attended the Girls School in Bethlehem and became the first teacher at the girls’ school in Salem, and Anna Rosina Boeckel, age 14, who eventually returned to Bethlehem and is buried in God’s Acre on the Downtown Campus. 

Our second-graders loved hearing about the maps that modern walkers used to reenact the route, since they are studying maps right now as part of a social studies unit. And we all enjoyed imagining the 500-mile journey, and what it was like 250 years ago, versus what it will be like for the women walking in their memory. Many volunteers worked for over a year to plan the modern trip, and the walkers plan to arrive in North Carolina on October 26. 

After their presentation, our second-graders gathered in God’s Acre to locate and lay flowers on the grave of Anna Rosina Boeckel. Now when they walk through the cemetery on their way to lunch, they can see her marker and remember her story, and this connection to our past.