Scrapbook of Newspaper Clippings Pertaining to Ephrata Cloister, 1929-1954
Collection: The Scrapbook Collection
Call No.: MG-434, Box R008
Title: Scrapbook of Newspaper Clippings Pertaining to Ephrata Cloister, 1929-1954
Dates: 19 March 1929-15 September 1954
Extent: 1 volume
Creator: Unknown
Repository: LancasterHistory.org (Lancaster, Pa.)
Shelving Location: Archives South, Side 22
Description: The articles and images within this scrapbook were taken from both newspapers and magazines. The scrapbook holds information about the establishment and history of the Ephrata Cloister including articles about Johann Conrad Beissel, Pennsylvania Dutch, the German Seventh Day Baptist Church, and the Ephrata Cloister print shop. Some of the articles discuss how the area was raided and looted of antiques and relics before the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania bought the site. The majority of articles discuss the restoration and preservation measures taken to repair the Ephrata Cloister in order to open the historic site to the public.
Conditions for Access: Please make an appointment with the archivist.
Conditions Governing Reproductions: May not be photocopied. Please contact Research Staff or Archives Staff with questions.
Language: English
Source of Acquisition: Source unknown.
Related Materials at LancasterHistory.org:
MG-81. Ephrata Cloister Collection, 1753- 1964.
Alderfer, E. Gordon. The Ephrata Commune: An Early American Counterculture. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1985.
Altick, Richard. The Ephrata Cloisters in 1759. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical Commission, 1939.
Aurand, A. Monroe. Historical Account of the Ephrata Cloister and the Seventh Day Baptist Society. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Aurand Press, 1940.
Doll, Eugene Edgar. The Ephrata Cloisters. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation, 1944.
Heinicke, Milton H. History of Ephrata, Pa., and Its Cloister. Typescript, 1956.
Klein, Walter Conrad. Johann Conrad Beissel, Mystic and Martinet, 1690-1768. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1942.
Spohn, Clarence E. The Myths Surrounding the Ephrata Cloister and the Revolutionary War Era. Ephrata, Pennsylvania: The Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley, 2002.
Subjects: Ephrata Cloister.
Seventh-Day Baptists.
Historic buildings — Conservation and restoration.
Pennsylvania Dutch.
Preservation and restoration.
Archaeological thefts.
Theft of relics.
Scrapbooks.
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Ephrata (Pa.)
Administrative/Biographical History: Ephrata Cloister History
A German immigrant, Johann Conrad Beissel, and his faithful followers founded the Ephrata Cloister in 1732. Beissel established the Ephrata Cloister as a Protestant monastic community comprised of celibate Brothers and Sisters that lived on the 28-acre complex. The Ephrata Cloister worshiped on Saturdays. Through the 1740s and 1750s, the congregation was made up of eighty celibate members and approximately two hundred married family members. The married family members lived in the surrounding Ephrata community. The Brothers and Sisters were known for their music, printing and Frakturschriften, or Germanic calligraphy. In 1813, the congregation’s last celibate member died. However, the cloister remained open until 1934, as a German Seventh Day Baptist Church for the married family members.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania bought the Ephrata Cloister during 1941. The 28-acre complex is now open to the public. During each tour, one can view nine of the original European style buildings and the grounds of the Ephrata Cloister.
Custodial History: Previously housed in the Scrapbook Collection, Book 110.
Cataloged by: CRB, October 2007.
This project was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, ME60112, 2007-2008.