Lititz, Lancaster County

I can't say for sure that creating an Instagram for the blog has definitely impacted the traffic. However, according to Blogger's stats, the numbers are much better than they were at this time last year, so at the absolute worst, the Instagram isn't hurting anything. Maybe these newfangled apps have their uses.

One thing that Instagram has definitely done, at least, is connect me with a lot of historical organizations across the state. The exciting part is that not only am I following them, but some of them are following me back! One of those, which is admittedly what kind of inspired me to do today's post, is the Lititz Historical Foundation. I've done all but one of the markers in Lititz, which was once voted the "Coolest Little Town in America," and by sheer happenstance the one remaining is the official marker of the community. I've only spent one day in Lititz, but I was completely delighted with it (apart from how cold it was, being late winter) and hope to go back.

John A. Sutter, Lititz, Lancaster County

First, thank you to everyone who shared last week's post about the Marshalls Creek explosion and the search for surviving relatives and friends of the victims. If you haven't seen it, please do check it out and pass it on to anyone you think might be able to help with that.

For this week's quest, we're heading out to Lancaster County thanks to some help from my pal Jon, the Hometown Historian. We both were researching this gentleman last year, and we had amusingly opposite experiences. I was in Lititz on a bitterly windy day in February and was able to get photos of the marker, while he was there later in the year and was able to get photos of the gravesite. But I hadn't found the grave, and he hadn't found the marker, so naturally we teamed up and traded pictures. You can find the video he made in my sources section at the bottom of the post. Thanks, Jon!

Moravian Gemeinhaus and Linden Hall, Lititz, Lancaster County

As I mentioned a while back, my little adventuring party spent a day this past February in scenic and historic Lititz. We had quite a pleasant experience, even though the borough was very quiet and many of its attractions were closed for the winter season, and I'm hoping to go back before the summer ends.

Lititz is a Moravian settlement at its roots, and while I will go into the history of the community itself when I talk about the actual Lititz marker, today we'll take a look at one of its most enduring institutions - a place where young women have been educated and given the keys to their future for almost 300 years.