Crime Scene & Biohazard Cleanup Near Brickyard Ephrata, PA

Ephrata is a borough in northern Lancaster County that grew out of the Ephrata Cloister, a religious community founded in 1732 by German mystic Johann Conrad Beissel on the banks of Cocalico Creek.

The Ephrata Cloister was one of America's earliest communal religious societies, and its printing operation was so advanced that by 1742-43 its book bindery was the largest and best equipped in the colonies, and the community produced much of the paper used during the Revolutionary War.

The Cloister community declined after Beissel's death in 1768, and its surviving buildings became a state historic site in 1941; today the Historic Ephrata Cloister is a National Historic Landmark administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Ephrata was not incorporated as a borough until August 22, 1891, more than 150 years after the Cloister was founded, when the village had a population of about 2,200.

The 2020 census counted 13,794 people in Ephrata, and Census Bureau figures show about 6,050 households in the borough averaging 2.25 people each.

Just outside the borough, the Green Dragon Farmers Market has operated since 1932 and opens every Friday year-round, drawing hundreds of growers, merchants, and craftsmen in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

The Ephrata Fair, held annually since 1919, is one of the largest street fairs in Pennsylvania and takes over the borough's downtown streets each September.

During its 19th-century growth Ephrata became a resort stop known for its spring waters, with grand hotels such as the Mountain Springs and the Mount Vernon House serving travelers on the Reading and Columbia Railroads.

Public school students in Ephrata attend the Ephrata Area School District, including Ephrata High School.