At present many of the buildings are in ruins, particularly those which were first erected. A short distance from the enclosure containing the old meeting-house and cloister, there is a small building, with a steeple, which was formerly the residence of the physician. Near by stands another dwelling, which was the parsonage. Above this stands a large building. Without, it presents a very singular and unique appearance. In entering it we pass a small portico, and the door is so low that it is necessary to stoop in passing; but the objects within witness at once to the vision that it is the house of God. Six tables are arranged so as to reach nearly the whole length of the room, with convenient seats, as many as are necessary. On one side of the room appear a stand and table, slightly elevated, for the accommodation of the speaker. Several of those large ornamented writings, already described, are hanging on the walls. The room is perhaps forty feet square. It was formerly the sisters' dining and prayer room. At present it is the meeting-room of the Society. A part of the same building is used for domestic and culinary purposes, and is furnished accordingly. Near this is a stone building appropriated to other domestic offices. The house at present occupied by the sisters is contiguous to the meeting-room, and is inhabited by five aged ladies, who are the only remaining members of the convent. They have many relics of antiquity, which are preserved as objects of curiosity. Some of the caps worn by the sisters in the early days of the institution are carefully preserved. Adjoining the turnpike, in a corner of the yard, stands the academy,—a new building, with a steeple, clock, and bell. It is two stories high, and contains several apartments, in which both male and female schools are taught. These buildings, with one hundred and twenty acres of land, and a grist and saw mill, are the property of the Society.
Another community, every way similar to that of Ephrata, is situated at Snowhill, in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Its location is in that beautiful and fertile valley which is embosomed in the Blue Ridge Mountains, extending from Northern Pennsylvania to the Shenandoah Valley, in Virginia. This section was early settled by a German population, and their immediate neighbourhood with the Dunker Baptists, of which there is now a large society. Belonging to this Dunker Society was one Andrew Snowberger, from whom the Snowhill Society takes its cognomen, berg, in German, signifying a hill,—his name is literally Snowhills. It is seldom, however, that adventitious names correspond with localities. The establishment called Snowhill is located in a small vale of a large valley, in latitude 39° N., about seven miles from Hagerstown, Maryland. In the convent resided an old sister, in 1849, nearly one hundred years of age, who was the daughter of Andrew Snowberger, and who gave the following account of the origin of the Society. Her father, by a diligent study of his German Bible, became convinced that the seventh day of the week was the only divinely appointed Sabbath, and in consequence he became firmly determined to keep it as holy time. This caused much difficulty in his family and among his neighbours; but he was not to be deterred from acting according to the dictates of his conscience by any difficulties. Believing in prayer, and that faith and patience will overcome all things, he persevered in the path of duty. At length, to his inexpressible delight, the way became smooth before him, his family complied with his regulations, and subsequently embraced his views. In this lonely situation as to society of his own faith, Andrew instituted and maintained the worship of God in his own house. He desired to remain in communion with his first-day brethren, but they, after a long consideration of the subject, determined upon his expulsion from the church. This, to his feelingly sensitive mind, was extremely painful; but he observed, "that he could better bear the frown and disowning of men, than to disobey God and feel that he incurred His displeasure."
Notwithstanding the many trials and difficulties, Andrew continued firm in his attachment to the Sabbath, and some time after, his faith was greatly increased by the following circumstance. The country, in many parts, was still a dense and unbroken forest, and much of the labour of these early settlers was to clear away the superabundant wood. In this employment Andrew was engaged one first-day, when his neighbours were all gone to the Dunker meeting. He was piling and burning brush, which, at that time, formed the material of all the fences, upon his own and the contiguous estates. After he had been at work for some time, the wind rose to a smart breeze, and the fires in a very few minutes became unmanageable. On they went, crackling and roaring; the fence on one side of the lot took fire, whence it spread with rapidity, and was in a fair way to communicate to the home establishment of his neighbour. Andrew saw plainly enough that notwithstanding all his efforts to the contrary, the whole must inevitably be burned before human help could be obtained, unless Providence would interpose. In this extremity he threw himself upon his knees, his face and hands blackened with smoke and ashes, and cried out in the deepest tones of supplication, "Oh Lord, if it be from thee that I keep the seventh day for a Sabbath, and labour on this day, according to thy law, do thou stop this fire." While he thus prayed the wind veered suddenly, and took the fire in altogether another direction, so that it became easily manageable. The skeptic may sneer at this, but the Christian will remember that God is omniscient, that He holds the winds in his fist, and moreover that He has promised to hear and answer prayer. This remarkable circumstance Andrew improved, by vowing unto the Lord to be steadfast in his law, and to make his house for ever a house devoted to the servants and the service of God,—a vow which the Almighty seems to this time to have accepted. But for years after this, Andrew was the only master and minister in his house devoted to God; but he steadily maintained divine worship upon the Sabbath, and not without success, for he had the happiness of seeing some of his neighbours, one at a time, come and unite with him in serving God.
After several years, Elder Lehman, from Ephrata, made them a visit, and proposed to raise an establishment similar to that at the former place. To this Andrew cheerfully acceded, and accordingly, as soon as circumstances would permit, the estate and buildings were formally conveyed to the Society. It was not a gift, however. Andrew had a large family dependent upon him for support. The land had been brought into a state of cultivation by their mutual efforts, and strict justice required that the interests of all should be considered in its alienation. Everything was fairly appraised, and time given to the Society to pay the appraisement to him and his heirs. This arrangement was followed by the happiest consequences. Andrew and his family were amply provided for, and he lived to see his children and his children's children become members of the Society which had arisen through his means. He and his companion in life went down to the grave in a good old age, and are now doubtless raising their voices with that company who were redeemed from the earth.
The estate consists, at present, of 165 acres of land, in a high state of cultivation, and is very productive. It is a stiff loam, upon a limestone bottom, and is, therefore, well adapted to grass and the cereal grains. They are abundantly supplied with farm buildings. The principal barn, situated on a hillside, built of stone and brick, is 50 feet wide and 102 feet long, with a roomy overshoot on the lower side; the lower, or under-ground story, contains several stables for the accommodation of the domestic animals; the yard is well supplied with pure water, and everything bears the marks of thrift, industry, and economy. There are two flourishing orchards, well supplied with a choice variety of fruit, and two neatly cultivated gardens. Much of the wearing apparel is manufactured by the sisters, and the visiter who passes the building appropriated to that industrious use, will be strongly reminded of a classical quotation from the Odyssey, where Calypso is represented as
"With voice celestial, chanting to the loom,"
and her damsels,
"Who cull,
With hands of rosy white, the purple wool."