In September of 1971, almost 600 people came to a “picnic” to hear a proposal for a new “camp” on the property of an old resort called Tuscarora Inn, which started in 1927. The proposal was to purchase Tuscarora Inn to be used as a retreat center for the Lutheran Brethren church. Those at the picnic showed much interest in the concept, which would include a “camp” for the Lutheran Brethren church people to use, as well as a “village” where people would build rustic summer homes. The initial property package (for the Inn and Village) was a total of approximately 55 acres. A number of ways to raise money for a down payment were offered: donations, interest-bearing bonds, as well as an interest in one or more lots in the adjacent soon-to-be laid-out Tuscarora Village. Eventually, enough cash was raised for the down payment and the previous owners agreed to hold the mortgage. The initial investment in the Village was $1,850. The 25 acres behind the Inn were surveyed and divided into 100 quarter-acre lots that now make up Tuscarora Village. The lots were purchased in a unique manner. Because some lots were better than others, a fair way of determining who had the chance to buy each lot needed to be figured out. There were 2 baskets, each buyer put their name in one basket and the other had numbers from 1 to 100. The numbers represented the order that a person could pick their lot(s) as opposed to their actual lot number. If your name was drawn along with the number #1, that meant you would be the first to select.  As the development continued, another $3,000 per lot was collected from each property owner to create roads, sewer, and water lines. This money also enabled Tuscarora Inn to finance its further development into what we know today. Finally, in 1977 the first house was completed, and 4 more shortly after. 

   Originally, there were big signs at the entrances that said “Tuscarora Village Christian Community”. For unknown reasons, several years later the signs were removed.  Signs or not, Tuscarora Village was a  true community in every sense of the word.  Nearly all the homeowners wanted to be part of the ministry of Tuscarora Inn and Mount Bethel Church. Because of this, Tuscarora Inn, Tuscarora Village, and Mount Bethel Church all thrived. Homes continued to be built, the congregation at the church grew and more and more people became aware of Tuscarora Inn. To this day, the special link between these three entities continues.

   To give you a bit of history on the church, in 1978 the church was started with just 7 people made up of full-time Tuscarora Inn staff. These original 7, plus the weekend youth staff, along with the Board of Directors and their children were the congregation (about 20 in total).  It was an exciting day when in 1980 just 19 adults signed a charter, formally instituting Mount Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church.  They originally met in a portion of Tuscarora Inn’s Lounge, then moved to the little Chapel that was on Tuscarora grounds.  Then, in 1988 after outgrowing the chapel, the first portion of the Church was built on Belvidere Corner Road.  As the church grew, so did the Village, as people were moving into the Village and the Mt. Bethel area specifically to be part of the growing church. Because the church started to attract many different denominations the name was changed to The Mount Bethel Church. MBC now has people coming from all over the Slate Belt area, Stroudsburg, New Jersey, and even New York!

   Tuscarora Village is now a community of 74 homes. Nearly all are now year-round homes occupied by young adults, families, and retirees.