Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites | 1,560 followers on LinkedIn. Preserving over 275 years of local history, 20 historic sites, and 60,000+ artifacts. | Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites is a not-for-profit institution that brings to life three centuries of American history. Historic Bethlehem tells the story of a small town of great influence, founded by Moravians on December 24, 1741, home to some of our nation’s early settlers, America’s first pumped municipal water system, the earliest school to educate women in the American Colonies, the largest 18th-century log structure in continuous use in America, and one of the world’s greatest industrial companies of the 20th century. Located in Eastern Pennsylvania, only an hour drive from Philadelphia to the North and 2 hours west of New York City, Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and Historic Moravian Bethlehem is recognized as a National Historic Landmark District and a cultural site on the US Tentative List for nomination to the World Heritage List.