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Gnadenhütten (German: [gnaːdn̩hʏtn̩]; lit.'"huts of grace"') the name of settlements[1] founded by the German Moravian Church. The word was transliterated as Canatanheat by the missionary John Brainerd in his account.[2]

The proper German spelling without the umlaut ü is Gnadenhuetten. American usage settled for Gnadenhutten, even though 19th century sources had used the umlaut.

Two settlements in the North American colonies were named Gnadenhütten. Each suffered massacres, called the Gnadenhütten massacre:


  1. ^ "'Gnade' (German for grace); a word with which the names of many places founded by the Moravians begin", Encyclopædia Americana, 1831 [1]
  2. ^ Thomas Brainerd, John Brainerd: The Life of John Brainerd: The Brother of David Brainerd, and His Successor as Missionary to the Indians of New Jersey ..., Presbyterian Publication Committee, 1865, p.197. Footnote: "This was, doubtless, Gnadenhütten, founded by the Moravians in 1746. It was situated on the Mahoning Creek, near the Lehigh River,..."