Voted America’s Coolest Small Town in 2013, Lititz, PA is where I call home!
Lititz, PA, is a historic small town in the heart of Lancaster County, PA. Lititz was founded in 1742 by Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf as a Moravian church community.
LITITZ MORAVIAN CHURCH
The Moravians were facing religious persecution in Germany and came to the new world seeking freedom. The church square is beautiful. You can take a tour of the historic church sanctuary that dates to 1787 and other buildings on the square and learn more about the history of the Moravian community. One interesting fact, the Brethren House (below) served as a hospital for General Washington during the Revolutionary War. To learn more about the Lititz Moravian Church, click HERE.
Also on the church square is Linden Hall, a boarding school for girls. Linden Hall was founded in 1746 and is the oldest girls’ boarding and day school in the United States. The photo below is the chapel at Linden Hall that was built in 1885. To learn more about Linden Hall, click HERE.
LITITZ MUSEUM AND JOHANNES MUELLER HOUSE
Across the street from the Moravian Church Square, you will find the Lititz Museum and Johannes Mueller House (1792).
You can learn more about the Lititz Museum and the tours offered at the Johannes Mueller House HERE.
The house and museum are decorated beautifully for Fall.
LITITZ MUSEUM GARDEN
One of my favorite spots in downtown Lititz is the Lititz Museum Garden. The garden is open to all and it’s beautiful any time of year! My nephew got married in this garden!
STURGIS PRETZEL
Near the museum is the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, the first commercial pretzel bakery in America and the Sturgis family is the oldest pretzel baking family in America. Visitors can tour the bakery and learn how to twist a pretzel! And, of course, you can take some pretzels home from the bakery store. To learn more about Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, click HERE.
Next, I wanted to give you a glimpse of some of the historic homes and shops along Main Street.
Both Main Street and Broad Street have a lot to offer with quaint shops and boutiques and unique eateries! Most notable being the General Sutter Inn and Bulls Head Public House.
WILBUR CHOCOLATE
Lititz is known not just for it’s salty treat, the pretzel, but also for a sweet treat – chocolate!
Lititz is the home of Wilbur Chocolate! The factory was recently closed in 2016! But, before it’s closure, you could smell chocolate in the air when you walked in downtown Lititz!
Wilbur Chocolate is most known for Wilbur Buds, created in 1893. Wilbur is celebrating 125 years of Wilbur Buds this year! The Wilbur Chocolate Store is located across the street from the old factory on Broad Street.
The store is full of nostalgia from the original factory! To learn more about Wilbur Chocolate or to have some Wilbur Buds delivered to your home, click HERE.
My last stop on today’s tour of downtown Lititz, is Lititz Springs Park. You can read more about the history of Lititz Springs Park HERE.
THE READING AND COLUMBIA RAILROAD
The Reading and Columbia Railroad passed through Lititz. This is the Welcome Center at the entrance to the park. It was built as a replica of the 1884 Lititz Passenger Depot.
This is just a small glimpse of Lititz, PA. This was a hard post for me to write because there’s so much more that I would like to share! But, I hope that you enjoyed seeing the sights in downtown Lititz! If you would like to plan a visit to Lititz, click HERE. And, I have a post from years ago showing some of downtown Lititz in the snow at Christmastime! You can see that post HERE.
My post today is part of a Points of Interest Tour hosted by my friend, Jennifer at Town and Country Living! I hope that you’ll take some time to visit the hometowns of my blogging friends below!
TUESDAY
My Sweet Savannah / Hymns and Verses / It All Started with Paint / The Happie Housie
MONDAY’S TOUR
Town and Country Living / Finding Silver Pennies / Southern Hospitality
What a beautiful place. I really enjoyed seeing all the old buildings and their architecture. I have a thing for early colonial styled buildings. This sounds like a fun place to add to my TO VISIT spots.
Doreen, my husband is from York, Pa, so I’ve visited the Lancaster area many times. It’s always such a joy to visit. The historic homes are always so beautiful. Now I don’t remember Lintz specifically but I’m so glad you shared this because now I know the perfect side trip for the next time we travel to York.
Perfect timing!! We’re bringing my In-Laws there later this week!!
Wow, that’s awesome! Enjoy!
Doreen
Thank you for sharing. I have friends who live in Lititz and love there.
Sorry for the waterline break to your refrigerator. We bought a house in York and prior to our moving in July the same thing happened to us. Everything had to be ripped out. Still trying to get things put back into place. Eventually we will be able to settle in. Pray your issues are quickly resolved.
Blessings
Sue
I am so, so sorry to hear about the waterline break. And, on such an important week for you too. I loved seeing your beautiful, historic town. I would love to visit. I hope this week gets much better quickly for you! Blessings to you!
Absolutely beautiful! Makes me want to visit at this time of year!
Doreen,
Your Lititz photos are beautiful! I’m so sorry to hear about the water problem. I know when all the work is finished you have your home looking as beautiful as ever. Hoping to see a few wedding phots in the near future!
oops – ‘photos’!
Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed reading the history of Lititz and the pictures are perfect. I love historic homes and buildings. Lititz eems like a wonderful place to visit
Very sorry to hear about your water issue in the kitchen, but glad to hear that you are not letting it put a damp er(see what I did there :o)) on this special week of your son’s wedding. (I heard that humor sometimes helps.)
All the best fo all during this memorable wedding week!
Thank you for the beautiful photos of your hometown. I will have to put Lintz on my list of places to visit!
A question, how do you encrypt your website in the right-hand bottom corner of your blog post photos?
Doreen,
What a beautiful, quaint, and picturesque little town! It looks very lovely all decked out for fall, but there is something in your photos that truly conveys the beauty. You have a real eye for seeing the loveliness of things. Thank you!
Sorry you are having so many problems the week of your son’s wedding. Sending prays for strength to carry on.
Thank you so much for showing your town. What a special place. I want to visit! I loved visiting PA when my daughter lived in Downingtown. I don’t think we visited Lititz because I would remember that beautiful place.
Oh this just made my day! We live in So California. My husband is from PA and his parent retired to Lititz many years ago. I was fortunate to be able to visit more than once and was charmed by Lititz and all it’s wonderful beauty and history. Thank you for sharing!
I just adore historic towns in PA! Everyplace looks like “George Washington slept here.” 🙂 Thank you for sharing your amazing small town with us! Love all the charm and that park with the ducks is darling!
🙂 Linda
Such a quaint town! Beautiful post! Upholding you in prayer….keep pressing forward Doreen by His Grace.
We just came back from a 16 night stay in the area. (We were both born in the area and now live in Arizona) We have many of the same captures but your photos are MUCH better! 🙂 Sorry about the leak but you might get new cabinets and flooring from it? Hope the wedding goes well! Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos of our favorite city in Pa.!
Such a beautiful town. I clicked over to see your post at Christmas time, it looks like aHallmark movie. I’m really enjoying this series of stories and think bloggers should share more about the towns they live in. Very interesting!
What a beautiful pictorial tour of your hometown! I want to go there right now!!!
So sorry about your flooding & praying it can all be fixed right away!
Congratulations on your son’s wedding this weekend! Enjoy & cherish EVERY moment!
Hi Doreen –
I have known many things about Lititz since I was a little kid growing up in suburban Philadelphia, but have never been there. I think I may have commented on one of your post’s years ago that the town was a client of my father’s company for years. My dad traveled to Lititz on a regular basis for town meetings, dinners and more. His company designed the waste water treatment… aka the sewage system. 🙂 I hope it is working well.
The town is charming. Thank you for sharing. Your post brought back many fond memories of my father and how my siblings and I would always say… Going to Lititz again? It was part of our life, even though we never actually went, just my dad did.
I could go for a Wilbur bud right now. 🙂
Must put this on my to do list of places to visit!
Such a lovely historic town. Like walking into the past. How did you manage to get pics without people in them? I was drooling over the chocolates!
Doreen, thank you for this post…if I ever make it to Lancaster county I would like to see your town.
I’m sorry about your flooding situation…how awful. On the bright side, I believe you always wanted a new kitchen…so now you’ll get one. I loved your old kitchen though.
Christine
New Hampshire
What an amazing place! You are so blessed to live in this adorable town! I really enjoyed seeing all the buildings and learning about this place! (P.S. Southern Hospitality’s link didn’t work)
What a beautiful historic town! Wow! We don’t have anything like that kind of history where we live… it is so NEW on the west coast:) So fun to take your tour and see these cool highlights!
Wow, what a beautiful little town! I live in Eastern Tennessee but one of our sons lives near Philly. I found Lititz on a map and see it isn’t too awfully far from Philly so we will have to head that way the next time we are in the Philly area. Thanks for sharing such lovely photos….and so sorry about your water issues. Hang in there!
Doreen, I thought I had commented previously but I don’t see it. Anywho – I adore your town and not only is it the coolest, it’s one of the most beautiful! Fall is the perfect season to photograph it. I really need to visit one day. And hello Wilbur buds!! I’m definitely ordering a bag of those!
What a beautiful town. The old buildings hold character and charm while the landscaping looks amazing. It’s a beautiful place to call home!!
I do not have words about your disaster at your home. I’m praying it is restored to a semblance of order soon. Do your friends comfort you and say. “Focus on your makeup and hair and hotel or Airbnb accommodations for out of town guests. “?
❤️The wedding will be so wonderful!!! 🙏
oh my. what a beautiful historic little town. I bet its just beautifully decorated for the seasons. thanks for sharing all that history of your chocolate loving town!
Now I want to come and see it in person! You obviously love your town and you’ve made us fall in love too. Thank you for sharing with us!
What a lovely hometown ! I’ve been formulate to visit in the past . We live in Chambersburg, PA .
I enjoy your blog -/ your decorating style , printables and DIY .
Your little town is just so gorgeous! I love Main Street and how that museum is decorated. So picturesque and so much history. Thank you for sharing it with us. xx