A year after purchase of the Wachovia Tract, a group of 15 men came south to begin the first settlement. Their journey began on October 8, 1753, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the trip overland through Pennsylvania, Maryland and down the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia is described in fascinating detail in the Moravian Records [1:75-80]. The road was poor, food was scarce, and river crossings with their loaded wagon were very difficult. By early November the weather was cold and rainy or even snowy, and near the end they were delayed for two days, unable to cross the flooded Dan River just south of the Virginia-North Carolina border. They finally reached their destination on the evening of November 17th, taking shelter in a deserted cabin and celebrating their arrival with a Lovefeast (a shared simple meal with singing and prayer, a Moravian tradition). The wolves howled loudly outside.

The members of this group were carefully selected to provide the necessary combination of skills to create a new community from the wilderness. Eleven, all single men, were to be the permanent settlers, and four returned to Pennsylvania. Most had previously been residents of the Moravian agricultural center at Christiansbrunn, near Nazareth PA.