God's_Acre_Cemetery_(Old_Salem)
God's Acre Cemetery (Old Salem)
Cemetery in Forsyth County, North Carolina
God's Acre Cemetery (also known as Salem Moravian God's Acre and Salem Moravian Graveyard) is a cemetery for the Moravian congregation in Old Salem, North Carolina. It is located around 100 yards (91 m) north of the town's Home Moravian Church and also serves the thirteen member churches of Salem's congregation: Ardmore, Bethesda, Calvary, Christ, Fairview, Fires, Home, Immanuel New Eden, Konnoak Hills, Messiah, Pine Chapel, St Philips and Trinity. St Philips has a second cemetery in the northeastern corner of the adjacent Salem Cemetery.
Burials are organized chronologically. There are no statues, only uniform white square headstones (20" x 24" x 4" for adults)[1] laid into the ground, because Moravians believe that everyone is equal in death.[2][3] The graves are arranged in line with the 18th-century choir format: men and boys are separated from women and girls. Family ties are not considered: the cemetery itself is considered a family plot.[1]
The first burial in the cemetery was John Birkhead in 1771. The first female burial was that of Eva Anna Berothin two years later.[1] As of 2023, the cemetery contains over 6,000 burials.[4]
The older cemetery entrance is via Cemetery Street, to the north. The more modern eastern section is accessed from the west by Cedar Avenue, which is a narrower extension of Church Street,[1] or from the east via East Salem Avenue. The first sign greeting visitors arriving past Cedarhyrst, a Gothic Revival house at the southern gate of Cedar Avenue, reads "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth", which is taken from the Book of Job, chapters 19 to 25.[5] Several similar signs continue up the Cedar Avenue hill.[6]
