The soft pretzel was brought to the U.S. by the Moravians in the 1700s. Julius Sturgis invented the hard pretzel in 1861 and opened America's first pretzel bakery. The Sturgis Pretzel House remains today at 219 E. Main St. in Lititz, Pennsylvania. When visiting this part of Pennsylvania, be sure to stop by and tell them you heard about them on Topical Chirp. To learn more about Stugis Pretzels, go to their website at: http://www.sturgispretzel.com/
(info from PCN)