EPHRATA, Pa., township and borough in Lancaster County; on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia. It is an agricultural and mining region with forests nearby. It is a health re sort and has manufactories of cigars, silk, underwear and hosiery. The borough owns its waterworks and electric-light plant. Ephrata was founded by Johann Conrad Beissel (q.v.) and his followers in 1735. The community es tablished by Beissel was called °Order of the Solitary," and it resembled somewhat the Seventh-Day Adventists. Ephrata contains several very ancient and singular buildings, particularly the brother and sister house. These houses are large four-story structures, each con tains a chapel, and is divided into small apart ments, so that six dormitories, barely large enough to contain a cot, a closet, and hour glass, surround a common room, in which each mess have their meals. The dress of the brethren and sisters was that of the Franciscans or White Friars. They were remarkable for their rigid adherence to the precepts and ordinances of the New Testament; they insisted upon the washing of the feet before administering the sacrament; and were very observant of the Sibbath. They were peaceful and temperate
and distinguished for their music, which was composed and arranged by themselves. Prior to the Revolution they seemed to flourish, but now only a few of the order remain. Many of the members were well educated; Peter Miller, second prior of the monastery, translated the Declaration of Independence into seven lan guages, at the request of Congress. A printing press was set up, and a number of works, in both English and German, some of them very beautifully made and now highly prized, were published. Pop. of townships, 2,565; bor ough, 3,192. Consult Gibbons, 'Pennsylvania Dutch and Other Essays' (1872) • Kuhns, 'Ger man and Swiss Settlements of Colonial Pennsyl vania); Sachse, 'The German Sectarians of Pennsylvania' (2 vols., 1900).