Konigmacher House

I grew up near the Ephrata Cloister in Lancaster County. I remember when the Cloister Shopping Center was built across the road from the Ephrata Community Hospital where my younger siblings were born. It is familiar territory, but this week I saw it with different eyes as I dug through old deeds and maps. 

Much of the land where the shopping center and hospital stand today was farmed by several related Konigmacher families who descended from immigrant Adam Konigmacher (1738-1793). The Konigmachers were householder members of the Ephrata Cloister, meaning they lived in the surrounding area and worshiped at the Cloister but did not live on the grounds or take a vow of celibacy. Many of the Konigmachers are buried in the cemetery of the Ephrata Cloister.

Below--view of the Cloister buildings from the cemetery entrance.

Two of the Konigmacher houses are still standing. One is on the corner of Route 272 and Martin Avenue, in front of the hospital. It was built by Benjamin Konigmacher about 1910 and was the birthplace of Joseph Konigmacher, founder of the Mountain Springs Hotel on the hill above the town of Ephrata. The other Konigmacher house is directly across 272 in the rear of the shopping center. Today it is a Kingsway Realty office.

This house was built in 1777 by Michael Miller, a member of the Cloister. It was the home of Adam and Eliza (Royer) Konigmacher. Adam (1821-1889) was the son of William (1797-1881) who was the son of Jacob (1771-1839), son of immigrant Adam (1738-1793). 

Adam and Eliza Konigmacher had three children, Jacob Konigmacher (1850-1912), Susan (1852-1917) wife of John P. Hess, and Elizabeth "Lizzie" (1853-1931), wife of (1) Henry Musser (2) Philip Nagel. Susan moved to Iowa and Lizzie to Illinois. Jacob got the family farm from his father and lived there until his death in 1912. He had one son, William Konigmacher, who married Anna Steinmetz. 

Jacob was a prominent person in the community. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers' National Bank in Ephrata where he was a director and vice-president. He was a trustee in the Ephrata Monument Association, serving as secretary and treasurer. He was a member of the Lutheran Church and the Pennsylvania German Society.

After Jacob's death, the farm was sold to Martin L. Zimmerman. This is where our connection to the place comes in. By 1944, Martin was getting old and needed help. Leroy's parents had been married for a little over a year and lived on another farm. They moved into the tenant house on Martin Zimmerman's farm and Pop was the hired man. Leroy was three months old when they moved to this place and they only lived there for one year so he does not remember it.

From the memories of his parents, we know the tenant house was to the left of Martin's house. The place where the shopping center is now was a meadow where cows grazed. When I look at the place now and see what was done in the name of "progress" it seems a shame that a once lush pasture is covered with asphalt, stores, and a McDonalds. Noisy traffic rushes by on a busy road that was once a quiet, peaceful farm.

During the year Leroy and his parents lived in the tenant house, the bridge was built over Route 322. The 272 (then called 222) had been built but the bridge had not because the materials were hard to obtain during the war. The road could not be used until the bridge was built to connect the two parts of 272. When the bridge was being built in 1944, Pop went out to watch and the man operating the crane allowed him to come in the cab with him.

After a year on the Zimmerman farm, Leroy's parents moved to another farm south of New Holland. That is where Leroy's earliest memories were made. They lived there until he was nine and then moved to Berks County where they lived the rest of their lives.