BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After sitting empty for more than two decades, a hidden historic gem in Bethlehem is once again opening its doors to the public.<\/p>\n
Thanks to a passionate effort to preserve local history, the Grist Miller\u2019s House, originally built in 1782, has been restored and is now welcoming visitors. The house once served as home to the man who operated the nearby mill, a central figure in Moravian communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am euphoric,\u201d said LoriAnn Wukitsch, President & CEO of Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites.<\/p>\n
Brother Ted Moyer, the organization\u2019s lead storyteller, knows the history well and dresses the part.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m wearing Moravian business casual: a waist coat, britches, and this beautiful wide-brimmed hat,\u201d Moyer said with a smile. \u201cThe grist miller was a very important person in any community.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the past 20 years, though, the house stood silent. Its structure was so compromised that steel beams were required to hold it together.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very close to collapsing,\u201d Wukitsch recalled.<\/p>\n
But the restoration comes at a particularly special moment. Bethlehem recently earned designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site\u2014bringing renewed global attention to its history and preservation efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have more eyes on us locally, regionally, and throughout the globe,\u201d said Wukitsch.<\/p>\n
Every room in the Grist Miller\u2019s House tells a story\u2014of the trades and industries that built Bethlehem from the ground up. Visitors can even see crafted leather shoes and other historical artifacts on display.<\/p>\n
And the restoration work isn\u2019t over yet. Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites plans to recreate a historic walkway that once connected the Grist Miller\u2019s House to the neighboring Luckenbach Mill.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the public is invited to a free open house Saturday from 1 – 4 p.m.<\/p>\n
People can also take part in ticketed walking tours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After sitting empty for more than two decades, a hidden historic gem in Bethlehem is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225396,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,23572,97871,57069,32630,28],"class_list":["post-225395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-grist-mill","tag-grist-miller","tag-luckenbach-mill","tag-national-register-of-historic-places-in-northampton-county","tag-pennsylvania"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}