Ephrata
Ephrata
(ĕf`rətə), borough (1990 pop. 12,133), Lancaster co., SE Pa., in a prosperous farm area; inc. 1891. There is varied manufacturing. A noted semimonastic religious community was founded (c.1732) there by Seventh-Day Baptists under the leadership of Johann Conrad BeisselBeissel, Johann Conrad, 1690–1768, founder of the Seventh-Day Baptist community at Ephrata, Pa. Emigrating (1720) from Germany, he settled first with the German Baptists, or Dunkards, in Germantown, Pa.
..... Click the link for more information. . This austere colony, the Ephrata Cloisters, was famous for its music and established (1745) one of the earliest printing presses in the country. The well-preserved buildings are maintained as a monument by the state.