Indian Tower

At the edge of the borough lies a weird treasue, The Indian Tower. This is the site of Nazareth’s first Moravian graveyard, called “God’s Acre” in use from 1744 to 1762. Wrongly thought to be a burial ground for the Indians from a nearby village, there are actually only 4 Indians buried here. Robert Haas created an American marble monument on site, dedicated by the Moravian Historical Society in 1867 at the same time the original pavilion was constructed. The monument was inscribed with the names of the 67 Moravians including 4 Indians, which are buried here.

Sadly, the Tower has been decimated with graffiti. If any credit can be given to the vandals, none of it is particularly vulgar. So there should be no worries when bringing children. But it is pathetic nonetheless.


While I was there snapping photos, I found a geo-caching package hidden, semi-cleverly I suppose, near the Tower. Geo-caching is a hobby where people hide packages at particular coordinates, post the coordinates on online message boards, and use satellite GPS systems to find the packages. The packages usually contain a logbook and pen and various trinkets that the geo-cache crowd exchange. The packages are supposed to be hidden in such a way that they are invisible to the naked eye and can only be found by dialing up the coordinates on a GPS unit. Average Joes’ like me shouldn’t be able to find them. However, I found the box, by accident, within two minutes of my visit. I looked in the box and returned it exactly where I found it although I positioned it so it would be less likely to be stumbled upon by another non-geo-cacher. In the package, I found a logbook that was extremely wet and unreadable and had, what appeared to be, dozens of entries. I also found some plastic army men, a toy dinosaur, a beverage cozy, a sticker, a small box of crayons, some dimes, and a bunch of other things. On a subsequent visit to the Tower, I brought a new notebook and a ziplock bag to keep it dry. This is the least I could do to apologize to the geo-caching gods for disturbing their territory.

The Ghost Owl of Washington Street

Perched in a tree on the corner of Washington and Mauch Chunk Streets is a white plastic owl that just sits motionless and stares northwest.

The Weight

"The Weight" is a song by the band 'The Band' and features references to the town of Nazareth. The song was released in 1968 on their Music from Big Pink album and while it was on the charts for 7 weeks it never eached higher than # 63. Rolling Stone Magazine named The Weight the 41st Greatest Song of All Time.

Why Nazareth? That's what's weird. These were folk musicians so obviously there is a connection to Martin Guitars. There also is the symbolism of biblical Nazareth. The answer is not clear.

Check out a sample of the song HERE.

Lyrics:

I pulled into Nazareth, I was feelin' about half past dead;
I just need some place where I can lay my head."
Hey, mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed?"
He just grinned and shook my hand, and "No!", was all he said.

Chorus:
Take a load off Fannie, take a load for free;
Take a load off Fannie, And (and) (and) you can put the load right on me.

I picked up my bag, I went lookin' for a place to hide;
When I saw Carmen and the Devil walkin' side by side.
I said, "Hey, Carmen, come on, let's go downtown."
She said, "I gotta go, but m'friend can stick around."

(Chorus)

Go down, Miss Moses, there's nothin' you can say
It's just ol' Luke, and Luke's waitin' on the Judgement Day."
Well, Luke, my friend, what about young Anna Lee?"
He said, "Do me a favor, son, woncha stay an' keep Anna Lee company?"

(Chorus)

Crazy Chester followed me, and he caught me in the fog.
He said, "I will fix your rags, if you'll take Jack, my dog."
I said, "Wait a minute, Chester, you know I'm a peaceful man."
He said, "That's okay, boy, won't you feed him when you can."

(Chorus)

Catch a Cannonball, now, t'take me down the line
My bag is sinkin' low and I do believe it's time.
To get back to Miss Annie, you know she's the only one.
Who sent me here with her regards for everyone.

(Chorus)