....another runs through it, and both fall into the Ebenezer. The Woods here are not so thick as in
other Places. The sweet Zephyrs preserve a delicious Coolness, notwithstanding the scorching Beams
of the Sun. There are very fine Meadows, in which a great Quantity of hay might be made with very
little Pains: there are Hillocks, very fit for Vines. The Cedar, walnut, Pine, Cypress, and Oak, make
the greatest Part of the Woods. There is found in them a great Quantity of Myrtle Trees, out of
which they extract, by boiling the Berries, a green wax, very proper to make Candles with. There is
much Sassafras, and a great Quantity of those Herbs of which Indigo is made, and Abundance of
China Roots. The Earth is so fertile, that it will bring forth anything that can be sown or planted in it;
whether fruits, Herbs, or Trees. There are wild Vines, which run up to the Tops of the tallest Trees;
and the Country is so good, that one may ride full gallop 20 or 30 Miles an end. As to Game, here
are Eagles, Wild Turkies, Roe-Bucks, Wild Goats, Stags, Wild Cows, Horses, Hares, Partridges &
Buffaloes." An Extract of the Journals of Mr. Commissary Von Reck, Who Conducted the First Transport of
Saltzburgers to Georgia;
"We continued our Journey, and set out by Break of
Day, and at nine arrived at the Place where the
Saltzburgers were afterwards settled. I shall here give a
short description of it. The Lands are inclosed between
two Rivers, which fall into the Savannah. The
Saltzburg Town is to be built near the largest, which is
called Ebenezer...and is navigable, being twelve Foot
deep. A little Rivulet, whose Water is as clear as
Crystal, glides by the Town;
The First Impressions
25-year-old Baron Philip von Reck, who accompanied the settlers, wrote the following optimistic
description of the site, which would later be found to be unsatisfactory, in his journal in 1734. On
March 15, 1734, James Oglethorpe, von Reck, Reverend Israel Gronau and two Salzburgers left
Savannah to search for a site for settlement. They agreed on a location two days later on a creek
about twenty miles northwest of Savannah. At first, they were excited by it:
Mar. 10. God blessed us this Day with the Sight of our Country, our wish'd for Georgia, which we saw at ten in the
Morning; and brought us unto the Savannah River, and caused us to remember the Vows we had made unto him, if He
did through his infinite Goodness bring us hither. We were to day very much edified with the xxxii Chapter of Genesis, and
the xxvi of Leviticus. At Noon, we cast Anchor because of the Tide: at eight, during the Evening Prayers, we enter'd the
River of Savannah; and were shelter'd by the Divine Goodness, from all Dangers and Inconveniencies of the Sea. This
River is in some Places broader than the Rhine, and from 16 to 25 Foot deep; and abounds with Oysters, Sturgeon, and
other Fish. Its Banks were cloathed with fresh Grass; and a little beyond were seen Woods, old as the Creation;
resounding with the Musick of Birds, who sung the Praise of their Creator. (end)
In 1735, Britain's Parliament not only funded the entire £25,800 requested by the Trustees for
support of Georgia for the coming year, they threw in an additional £200. The Salzburger settlement
grew later to 1,200 after another 300 Immigrants joined them in 1741. Other transports arrived until
1752. In 1769, they formed bricks with clay dug from the Savannah River banks for a new church,
the Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church.  
The London Merchant sails for America in 1738
Back in London, the emigration was of interest and updates would be printed in the
London media. A period newspaper at the left (click to enlarge) makes mention of the
Salzburgers: "The trustees for the colony of Georgia gave instructions to Mr Von Reck to fetch
more Protestants from Germany to be provided for in Georgia; those already there proving a very
religious, diligent, and governable people"
Baron von Reck also kept a vivid diary and made detailed sketches and maps of New Ebenezer
during his visit to the settlement in 1736. Many of the invaluable sketches depict native plant and bird
species as well as noting the customs and dress of the local Indians and give us an accurate
impression of what greeted the Salzburgers and what a culture shock it must have been for the simple
mountain folk who had never seen the ocean, let alone alligators. Not much is known about the
elusive Baron von Reck. Von Reck provided the only real glimpse into the early days of Ebenezer.
An Account of Reverend Mr. Bolzius, One of their Ministers. 1734. 'The Salzburgers arrive in Georgia'
Mar. 5. A. S. S. W. arose, which carried us, through the Mercy of Jesus Christ, within sight of Carolina. We sung Te
Deum, and the 66th Psalm, which was the Psalm for the Day, and seemed adapted to our Condition and Circumstances:
and we trust it will be a Psalm of Rememberance to us upon the Day, which is to be celebrated every Year, as a
Thanksgiving unto the Lord, for all his Mercies vouchsafed unto us. At Eleven in the Forenoon, we discovered the Coast
of Carolina, all covered over with large Pine Trees. The Wind being N. W. by W. contrary, we could not reach the Point
of Charlestown, so that we were forced, as we had been in our Voyage from Rotterdam to Dover, to stand off and on
several times, in order to get more Wind. God acts, with us, as he did with the Israelites: Joshua was to circumcise all
those who were willing to enter into Canaan: so God is willing to circumcise; amend, and convert our Hearts, before he let
us disembark. Towards Evening, we met an English Ship, which came from Charlestown this Afternoon, and was bound
for London. He told us the agreeable News of Mr. Oglethorpe's being safely arrived the Night before at Charles-town, in
his Way to England, which mightily rejoiced and comforted us.
Mar. 6. At six in the Morning, the Wind blowing hard at West, we lost Sight of Land; though at Noon, the Wind coming
to the South, we saw Land again: but Night approaching, we lay off and on.
Mar. 7. At Nine, there came from Charles-town, a Pilot on Board our Ship, we immediately cast Anchor; and at Ten, the
Captain, the Reverend Divines, and I went into the Pilot's Boat. At one in the Afternoon, we came to Charles-town,
where I immediately waited on his Excellency Robert Johnson Esq; and Mr. Oglethorpe. They were glad to hear that the
Saltzaburgers were come within six Leagues, all safe and in good health, without the Loss of any one Person. Mr.
Oglethorpe showed me a Plan of Georgia, and gave me the Liberty to choose a Settlement for the Saltzburgers, either
near the Sea, or further in the Continent. I accordingly accepted his Favour, and chose a Place 21 Miles from theTown of
Savannah, and 30 Miles from the Sea, where there are Rivers, little Hills, clear Brooks, cool Springs, a fertile Soil, and
plenty of Grass.
Charles-town is a fine Town, and a Sea-Port, and enjoys an extensive Trade. It is built on a Flat, and has large Streets:
the Houses good, mostly built of Wood, some of Brick. Wheat Bread is very dear here, there being no Wheat Flour but
what Gentlemen raise upon their Plantations for their own Use, and that is very good; or what they receive from the
Northern Colonies, or from England; Rice is here excellent and cheap. there are five Negroes to one White, and there are
imported generally 3000 fresh Negroes every Year. There are computed to be 30,000 Negroes in this Province, all of
them Slaves, and their Posterity for ever: They work six Days in the Week for their Masters without pay, and are allowed
to work on Sundays for themselves. Baptism is rarely here administer'd to the Children of the Negroes, and Marriage is
not in use amongst them; but they are suffer'd promiscuously to mix, as if they were a Part of the Brute Creation. Being
thus used, lays amongst them a Foundation of Discontent; and they are generally thought to watch an Opportunity of
revolting against their Masters, as they have lately done in the Island of St. John and of St. Thomas, belonging to the
Danes and Sweeds; and it is the Apprehension of these and other Inconveniences, that has induced the Honourable
Trustees for Georgia, to prohibit the Importation and Use of Negroes within their Colony.
Mr. Oglethorpe sent on Board our Ship, by the Pilot's Sloop, a large Quantity of fresh Beef, two Butts of Wine, two Tunn
of Spring Water, Cabbage, Turnips, Radishes, Fruit, &c. as a present from the Trustees, to refresh the Saltzburgers after
their long Voyage; for which Kindness (under God) we cannot be sufficiently thankful to them.
Mar. 8. We thought this Morning to have gone with the Pilot's Long Boat, on Board our Ship the Purrysburg, for the
Captain had taken here a Pilot, to bring us into the River Savannah. Mr. Oglethorpe had given us for our Guide Mr.
Dunbar, who knows the Country very well, and was already settled in Georgia, near the Place appointed for us. We
thought, I say, to have gone this morning; but the Boat was too much loaded, and theWind, which was E. S. E. though
favourable for Georgia, was contrary for us to reach our Ship. We returned to the Town, and lay there.
Mar. 9. We beg'd of God, that he would permit us to go to our Georgia. . We went away this Morning at ten, and got on
Board our Ship at two in the Afternoon.
A short time after they arrived, the Salzburgers were
followed by missionary John Wesley, founder of
Methodism, and a large group of Scottish highlanders
who also found a new home in Georgia. Wesley was not
so romantic in his assessment: "The land is a hungry
barren sand; and upon any sudden Shower, the Brooks
rise several Feet perpendicular, and overflow whatever is
near them, and the Water is generally so low in Summer
that a Boat cannot come within 6 or 7 miles of Town."
Indeed, of 44 named passengers on the ship Purysburg,
20 of them would die in 1734 and 1735, mainly from
malaria and dysentery, and by January of 1736, another
21 Salzburghers had perished. Ebenezer's location proved
too far from the Savannah River, the soil quality was
poor and there was frequent flooding in the area. The  
Salzburgers received permission to move to a far better
new site on a knoll where the Ebenezer Creek entered
the Savannah River, and here they built New Ebenezer.
Some of Von Reck's sketches, left