Olivia schlinkman, 14, of ephrata, left, jacey varner, 14, of reamstown, center, and 23yearold amanda shirk, of new holland look try to decipher the writing on gravestones at ephrata cloister. John bradley does a wonderful job of capturing tons of history and the flavor of this religious experiment in a few, wellcrafted words. The snowhill community, located in franklin county, was a branch or offshoot of the ephrata cloisters. The ephrata cloister had the second german printing press in the american colonies and also published the largest book in colonial america. I enjoyed the authors book about the snow hill as i am related to the founders snowberger of this cloister. Past purchases have included an abolition tract published at the cloister, a cupboard, a shelf, and most recently a book on the comet of 1744.
Text of one of the frakturschriften on the walls of the saal, the cloister, ephrata. The alchemy of the voice at ephrata cloister jan stryz. Headquarters of the society during the year the strassburger. Student historians crack the mysteries of ephrata cloister. Ephrata cloister was a protestant monastic community of celibate brothers and sisters supported by a married congregation who lived near the settlement. Preserving a legacy of william penns holy experiment. Upon returning to the brunnerville hotel, participants enjoyed many chinese auction items as well as. In the early 1700s, a series of german second adventists pilgrims who believed in the imminent second coming of the christ moved to pennsylvania and founded two important utopian communes, ephrata cloister and the woman in the wilderness. Seachrist also is an editorial board member for the pennsylvania german history and culture book series published by penn state university press, the series editor of the world musics series published by the. Apple dumpling fundraiser museums of lancaster county. Known as madam guyon, she was imprisoned two times for heresy. Clarke authored the book mennonite arts, about the antiques and regional culture of his people.
Highly rated budgetfriendly activities in lancaster county. Old order amish church districts map, old order amish committee, ed. Historic ephrata cloister, founded in 1732, was a protestant monastic community. Seachrist is associate professor of music and director of kent state universitys hugh a. Hello fellow wikipedians, i have just modified one external link on ephrata cloister. Found this rock today when we stopped in for lunch at cloister restaurant in ephrata. Bibles books greeting cards stickers rubber stamps and more. During their visit to the historic ephrata cloister on oct. For more information or to request a free 24page visitor guide, visit. On the back cover is a description of how to use the sample book to sell cards.
The ephrata cloisters in lancaster county were impressive to visitors for a variety of reasons. In a previous post about this book in october, the sister hanna book plate hannah lichty, 17141793 was mentioned but not pictured. Available also through the library of congress web site as facsimile page images. If not, i suggest this article should be called ephrata community. The book, martyrs mirror, is a history of the deaths of christian martyrs from the time of christ until 1660. This unique book is currently on exhibit in the visitors center. Large, long necked gourd, with hanging hook, 16, over 100 years old. They ran an important printing operation and produced exquisite, handilluminated books and documents in the style known as fraktur. Cloister restaurant inc ephrata, pennsylvania american. Beissel entrenched himself in opposition to the traditional family structure by publishing a book denouncing marriage of the flesh, and espousing a life of spiritual virginity. The ephrata cloister, now a national historic landmark in lancaster county, was once home to a thriving german religious commune.
The library of congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Pushing william penns holy experiment to its limits. Altick lancaster, pennsylvania an aspect of the colonial history of pennsylvania whose fame a and importance are steadily growing is that of the earliest, and to many the most remarkable, monastic settlement in america. This course undertakes special topics, issues, and problems in old world and. Benuel blank auction oct 2009 lancaster mennonite historical. The gift and book shop had items specific to the ideals of this time and region. A revolutionary romance at pennsylvanias ephrata cloister. The book, martyrs mirror, is a history of the deaths of christian martyrs from 4 b. Full text of souvenir book of the ephrata cloister.
A bibliography of lancaster county, pennsylvania, 17451912. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. Cloister item, rare hanging cupboard from the ephrata cloister. The cloisters, ephrata, lancaster county, pa drawings. Proceeds benefit the educational programs of the ephrata cloister. The 10 best cheap things to do in lancaster county. Easy lessons in the cuneiform inscr books on egypt. She serves on the board of the communal studies association. She came of an old family, indeed she was descended from that same jost. Purpose of project the ephrata cloister or ephrata community was a religious community, established in 1732 by johann conrad beissel at ephrata, in what is now lancaster county, pennsylvania. One should not forget that his massive two volume history of ephrata is subtitled, a critical and legendary history of the ephrata cloister and the dunkers. T o most people, one meal and six hours of sleep each day sound like torture. The joseph downs collection and the winterthur archives.
The author and photographer of this new guide to the ephrata cloister show their love and understanding of this unusual historic site. The board of directors invite the deposit of books, manuscripts and relics of. The cloister was established in 1732 by conrad beissel, a german immigrant who came to pennsylvania to be able to worship freely under william penns policy of religious tolerance. Ephrata cloister offera a music drama vorspiel, presented each summer by the ephrata cloister associates summer 1973 ephrata cloister associates on.
All boys and girls ages 9 to 14 years old are eligible to participate and will. Cloister in ephrata, pennsylvania pages in category ephrata cloister the following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total. Wikimedia commons has media related to ephrata cloister. Ephrata cloister, 632 west main street, ephrata, pennsylvania 17522. God is great a choral adapted from the music of the ephrata cloisters which appeared in. The reader of the numerous histories of ephrata will surely educe that much of the success of the cloister was heavily dependent on the personality and charisma of one man conrad beissel. Please contact their front service desk for admission fees and hours of operation at 7177336600 ext. The cloisters, academy, ephrata, lancaster county, pa.
Full text of pennsylvaniagerman society internet archive. Ephrata cloister, ephrata, pennsylvania travel photos by. The barn, which once housed animals and equipment, is now the museum store at ephrata cloister. His book is a serious piece of research, but it was written in a more romantic literary style than modern academic history today, and it must be read with a critical eye. Shop for books at and browse categories like young adult books, childrens books, mystery books, adult coloring books and cook books. Twelveyearold david clap practiced his writing exercises letters of the. Warfel, senior curator of archaeology for the state museum of pennsylvania, reveals the value of historical archaeology as it literally uncovers the myths and biases concerning the unusual communal society. Since its start in 1732, the historic ephrata cloister has attracted visitors fascinated by the communitys unique lifestyle that allowed the creation of incredible architecture, original. Shady nook farm was located in the surviving historic area of the ephrata cloister and was home to some of the last members of the german seventhday baptist church at ephrata. Peter lehman, its founder in 1800, had a lengthy stay at ephrata. Effridaa is a borough in lancaster county, pennsylvania, united states, 38 miles 61 km south east of harrisburg and about 57 miles 92 km west by north of philadelphia. When his presence left the community at his death in 1768, ephrata cloister simply began to irreversibly diminish.
Proceeds from the sales have returned numerous items to ephrata cloister, including rare manuscripts, 18thcentury ephrata furniture, and one of only two known copies of a book, printed at ephrata, about a comet that appeared in 1743. Materials in this collection include correspondence, articles, books, hymns, wills, photographs and other materials either collected by or written by sachse concerning the history and religious development of the ephrata cloister of the seventh day german baptist brethern formed at ephrata in 1732 and its sister community, the snow hill. This restricted fund is used to return original artifacts back to where they originated, the ephrata cloister. Perhaps madam guyons best known book is a short and very easy method of prayer. Historical archaeology at ephrata cloister, a series of yearly reports on excavations and investigations at the lancaster county historic site, written by stephen g. The ephrata cloister associates is a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with the pennsylvania historical and museum commission, supporting the mission of preservation and education at this national historic landmark. It is named after ephrath, a biblical town in what is now israel. One visitor was so impressed that he wanted to replicate it in another location. Historical account of the ephrata cloister and the. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.
The pennsylvania center for the book ephrata cloister. Full text of the german sectarians of pennsylvania. According to ketchum, 270 guests attended in 2019, and organizers are. Harry franklin stauffer works on the 1804 ouram press at the ephrata cloister in 1959. Ephrata cloister offera a music drama vorspiel, presented each summer by the ephrata cloister associates summer 1973.
Our colts neck seniors group visits the ephrata cloister in pa. Recent purchase of this book was made possible by the back to the cloister fund administered by the ephrata cloister associates. Ephrata cloister is one of 26 historic sites and museums on the pennsylvania trail of history. This book is brought to you for free and open access by the pennsylvania folklife society. Ephrata s sister city is eberbach, germany, the city where its founders originated.
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