Emmaus Moravian Church

Museums and attractions St. John Coral BayLast verified October 31, 2026

Around Coral Bay

The inner harbor of Coral Bay with moored boats, seen between steep forested hills dotted with houses on St. John — Coral Bay, St. John

Dry green hillsides sloping down to the blue water of Coral Bay on St. John — Coral Bay, St. John

Sailboats moored across the turquoise water of Coral Bay below the green, cone-shaped hill of Fortsberg, with more islands on the horizon — Coral Bay, St. John

Emmaus Moravian Church stands on a hillside in Coral Bay, and with its manse it has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977. The Moravians, the only church then allowed to minister to enslaved people in the Danish islands, received the land in 1782. Their first church here was destroyed by a hurricane in 1790 and the second by fire in 1892; the present church, with a west-end belfry and a West Indian tray ceiling, dates from about 1919. The manse, built by the late 1780s and possibly as early as the 1750s, is one of the oldest buildings on St. John and has a 'welcoming arms' staircase. The 18th-century cemetery east of the church is still used for burials. It is a working church on private land, not a museum, with no published visiting hours. The Johnny Horn Trail from Leinster Bay ends here.

Services

Active Moravian church; no published visiting hours
Historic church (about 1919) and 18th-century manse
End point of the Johnny Horn Trail

How we checked

Last verified on October 31, 2026. The business has not reviewed this listing.

Source: National Register of Historic Places nomination, 'Emmaus Moravian Church and Manse' (listed November 7, 1977), National Park Service NPGallery, https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/e34cea74-754f-468a-bfc9-a796a3dbce87 (land acquired by Governor de Malleville in 1782 and given to the Moravians, the only church allowed to minister to enslaved people; first church destroyed by hurricane in 1790, second by fire in 1892; present church constructed in 1919, though the description section says the main story was completed in 1918 and that date is incised in the stucco; belfry on the west end and tray ceiling; manse from as early as the 1750s and certainly by the late 1780s; 'welcoming arms' staircase; 18th-century cemetery 200 feet to the east; owned by the Moravian Church, private, religious use, access restricted) and photographs https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/ca962aa0-5ca3-401c-9371-77ddf40033f7; St. John Source, June 13, 2023, https://stjohnsource.com/2023/06/13/historic-buildings-ask-preservation-committee-approval-for-hurricane-repairs/ (roof replacement approved after the 2017 hurricanes), December 28, 2023, https://stjohnsource.com/2023/12/28/dpnrs-historic-recovery-program-awards-1-9-m-in-grants/ (manse roof repair grant) and October 27, 2026, https://stjohnsource.com/2026/10/27/helen-e-francis-dies-at-83/ (interment at the Emmaus Moravian Church Cemetery in Coral Bay on October 31, 2026); National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/johnny-horn-trail.htm (the Johnny Horn Trail ends at the paved road at the Moravian church in Coral Bay); all accessed 2026-10-31. Map point: NPS Public POIs dataset, church 'Emmaus Moravian Church' (OBJECTID 25570), https://mapservices.nps.gov/arcgis/rest/services/NationalDatasets/NPS_Public_POIs_Geographic/FeatureServer/0, accessed 2026-10-31.

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