The Single Brothers House was first built in 1769. The original plan was to have the two-story, multi-room house that you see today. But it was not until 1786, when the northern section was added, that it was as designer Frederic Williams had envisioned it. The building was used as housing for the single men of the community. It was restored to its original beauty in 1961.

Now, back in the day, single Moravian men and women could not have their own bachelor and bachelorette pads. They couldn’t even have their own place with a roommate. Nope, young single men and women either lived with their parents until they married or resided in the Single Brothers and Single Sisters houses. Local young men often moved into the house in order to learn a trade or single men moved into the residence to learn a viable trade. Once they learned a trade and could prove they could provide a home for wife, then they were permitted to marry. But it was the church that made that decision!

Now, when you first walk in, you will be directed to your left. This part of the building was known as the SAAL or meeting room. This is where the men gathered at the end of the day to read their Bibles and for worship service. This also served as the social room and was used for meetings. Inside, you will find simple benches, a beautiful ceramic heater, and an original 1798 Tanenberg organ. David Tanenberg was a Moravian and the first American-trained organ builder. Restoration began on it in the 1960s and will be completed in 2006. It can still be played, and if you’re lucky, you can hear one of the docents playing this remarkable organ.

You are permitted to tour the bottom floor. Most of what you find here are the rooms where the young men worked. These trades enabled the house to run a small empire, which produced income for the church and products for the residents. Here you can tour the kitchen, dye shop, weaver’s room, tailor’s shop, joiner’s shop, pewter shop, and potter’s shop. While we were here, we were able to see demonstrations by the weaver, tinsmith, and the joiner’s shop. You will notice that the craftsmen do use actual tools from the time. There are no power tools or fancy sewing machines. Everything is lovingly done by hand here. The docent/craft person will tell you what they are doing and give you some history of what they would have used at the time. They are also more than glad to answer any question you might have.

You do have to have the Old Salem ticket to tour. The house is open from 9am to 5:30pm. They do have what was originally the woodshop in the back, but it is not open to the public.