David Zeisberger
Allegany Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Noted Moravian missionary, passed through here in Oct. 1767, en route from Bethlehem to found missions among the Delaware Indians to the West. He was the first white man to travel through the primeval forests of this region.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In October 1767, Moravian missionary David Zeisberger traveled through this remote stretch of forest, bound from Bethlehem toward the Delaware communities to the west. Renowned for living among Native peoples and mastering their languages, Zeisberger devoted his life to missions on the frontier. His route through this untouched country was among the earliest recorded European journeys across the region.
Why it matters
His travels trace the early lines of contact that reshaped the relationship between Native nations and newcomers in the Pennsylvania backcountry.
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Related people
- · David Zeisberger
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Allegheny River
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High in Potter County rises the modest headwater of the Allegheny, a river whose importance far outstrips its quiet source. For centuries it carried Native travelers, and later French and British traders and westward-bound settlers, deep into the interior. Winding hundreds of miles to Pittsburgh, it joins the Monongahela to form the mighty Ohio, one of the great arteries of the American continent.
David Zeisberger
Harrison Township, PA · est. 1947
In October 1767, the Moravian missionary David Zeisberger made his way through this unbroken wilderness on a journey from Bethlehem toward the Delaware communities of the west. A tireless figure of colonial Pennsylvania, Zeisberger spent decades living among Native peoples and learning their languages. His passage through these primeval forests marked one of the first recorded European crossings of the region.
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