812-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 25, 1991
York Farm Women Society 26 Visits Ephrata Cloister
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
EPHRATA (Lancaster Co.)
If you are searching for a day trip,
you might want to do what the
Farm Women Society 26 of York
County did. They celebrated their
club’s 25th anniversary with a visit
to the Ephrata Cloister.
The trip provided a glimpse into
the 18th century life of a religious
commune.
While the members examined
A Farm Women member
dons a veil worn by women
at the Cloister settlement.
The Ephrata Cloister settlement was furnished only with
items that were necessary for their dally chores.
the 15-inch board that was used for
a bed and its accompaning wooden
pillow, one woman remarked, “I
can see why the group died out.”
The purpose of the austere lifes
tyle of the Cloisters was to teach its
members self-denial in order to get
closer to God.
Founded by Conrad Beissel in
1732, the commune consisted of
three orders, a brotherhood and a
sisterhood that practiced celibacy,
and a married order of
householders.
Strict rules, little sleep, and
bland food permeated the
commune.
The medievaLstyle buildings
had low door openings that forced
members to stoop whenever they
walked through them. This was to
remind them to be humble.
At its peak of popularity, the
radical religious community had
300 members. The celibate orders
lived on the grounds and worked at
farming, basketmaking, paper
making, printing, bookmaking,
carpentry, and milling.
Beissel believed that music was
necessary for a pious lifestyle.
Members wrote music and fol
lowed strict dietary rules to purify
their voices. Music was sang in
five parts that included an unusual
falsetto.
Education was important to the
religious commune. In 1740, the
York Farm Women Society 26 toured the Ephrata Cloister. From left, front row: Mary
Lantz, Athena Beshore, Betty Bertoiette, Ruth Willis, and Louise Pennay.
Back row, from left: Naomi Cashner, Luna Kohler, Martha Yost, Mabel Miller, Doris
Beshore, Mary Conley, and Clara Wilt.
Cloister community founded a
school, which was later used as a
public school. In 1743, the com
mune begin printing numerous
tracts, books and other literature.
The Cloister printing press is best
known for printing the largest
book ever printed in colonial
Arlierica. The book, Martyrs Mir
ror, has 1,200 pages and tells the
stories of Anabaptists martyred for
their faith.
Convinced that it was necessary
to show charity to others, the
Cloister provided free lodging and
food to travelers. They also nursed
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Beissel died in 1768. Few
remained interested in a life of self
denial and celibracy and by 1800
the few remaining members incor
porated with the Seventh Day Ger
man Baptist Church that used the
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