Ephrata Cloister became a state-owned historic site in 1941. By then, it had been a spot for tourists for hundreds of years.
Michael Showalter, museum educator at the Ephrata site spoke about tourists at the site in the first session of the cloisterâs winter history class. Here are a few reviews from the earliest visitors.
1735
Augustus Gottlieb Spangenberg and David Nitschmann, leaders in Pennsylvaniaâs Moravian Church, were the first known visitors to the cloister. Conrad Beissel had settled down on the banks of the Cocalico Creek in 1732. When the two Moravians visited, there were 15-20 people at the cloister and construction of the first dormitory was underway.