Life in Cloistered Ephrata Pennsylvania Examined

During a recent visit to the Ephrata Cloister in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I learned that German immigrant Conrad Beissel emigrated to this area in 1732, joining other German, Swiss, Dutch, and French Protestants escaping religious persecution in their homelands.  Our tour guide, Michael, explained that the two main issues for Beissel were that Saturday was the main day for worship, and celibacy was necessary in pursuit of heavenly goals. By 1750, the community numbered nearly 80, plus families who, while not celibate, sympathized and lived on nearby farms which supplied earthly needs which the Brothers and Sisters needed to supplement those produced in the colony itself. The building above, with its low doorway, was the Sisters' House, and on each of the 3 floors, there was a kitchen, dining room, workrooms, and 12 sleeping chambers.

The room above is furnished as it might have been during the life of the Ephrata Cloister, and the log house shows the typical construction of a home for a member who chose to live a more solitary life. One of the important contributions to life in this country was the printing press which the Brotherhood operated for nearly 50 years. Thier most ambitious work was the translation and publication of the 1500 page Martyrs' Mirror for the Mennonites, the largest book printed in colonial America. They performed many charitable works, and during the winter of 1777-1778, the Cloister served as a Revolutionary War military hospital.  As you might expect, the colony ceased to exist when the last Sister died in 1813 and the Sister's house became apartments for church members. What is left of the site is now a museum and historic site administered by the State.