The Historic Village of Zoar

We first heard about the village of Zoar, Ohio in the National Trust for Historic Preservation monthly email newsletter.  Zoar had a dire emergency!  The Army Corps of Engineers had built a 60' high levee around Zoar in 1936 to prevent the frequent flooding from the Tuscarawas River that had happened for years.  Due to poor maintenance, the levee had some areas that needed work but the Corps had no budget.   After much study, the Corps proposed 3 alternatives:  Repair the levee; Buy the village, tear it down and let it flood; or Relocate the village to higher ground.   The National Trust put Zoar on its "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places" list in 2012 and enough petitions and signatures, including ours, were generated to finally get politicians involved and force the Corps to back off.  Now the Corps has said it will study solutions to reinforce the levee and allow Zoar to survive!  That's the background!

Part of the 1936 levee

The Village of Zoar was founded in 1817 by a group of German religious dissenters seeking escape from religious persecution in their homeland of Wurttemberg in SE Germany.   They had separated themselves from the state religion of Germany, Lutheranism, and were being persecuted because they did not believe in baptism or confirmation and did not celebrate religious holidays except for the Sabbath. Thet wanted their religion to be simple and bereft of all ceremony.  They emphasized a mystical and direct relationship with God. They were also pacifists, definitely not popular in those days in Germany.

Joseph Bimeler (1778-1853) was a teacher in Ulm, Germany and the Society's founder, spiritual leader and business administrator. The group of 300 separatists arrived in Philadelphia in August 1817 and were befriended by the Quakers who provided shelter and helped them find jobs.  But their goal was to establish their own community in America so sight unseen, they purchased a 5500 acre tract along the Tuscarawas River, contracting to repay the loan from the Quakers over 15 years.  Small groups moved onto the land as they could afford to move.  The first cabin was completed in December 1817.  They called their community Zoar, a Biblical reference meaning sanctuary from evil.  Food was scarce the first winter, forcing the Zoarites to work on neighboring farms to feed themselves.   In 1818, each family cleared and cultivated its acreage but yields were low.  In 1819, the commune was born, with Bimeler as leader, holding all the land and property in common.  They called themselves the Society of Separatists of Zoar.  Trustees were elected and made decisions for the members and distributed food, clothing and shelter.  Times were still difficult but improving!  They still were not generating enough money to repay their mortgage!

In 1820, the state of Ohio began building the Ohio and Erie Canal and needed some of the Zoar land for this project.  The state offered the Zoarites a fee of $21,000 to build a 7 mile section of the Canal that would run  through their land and they happily accepted as this would allow them to retire their loan!  The women of Zoar did much of the canal building by hand as they outnumbered men in the colony by 2 to1.  By 1834, the Society paid off its debts and had a surplus.  Men and women had equal rights!  Most Zoarites had regularly assigned tasks to perform in the communal society and those without regular duties assembled daily to receive assignments from the trustees.

One impressive feature of Zoar is the central flower garden which is based on the Book of Revelation with a towering Norway Spruce in the middle representing Christ and 12 rays with Juniper trees at the middle emanating from the center representing the 12 apostles.  A large garden house, part hothouse, adjoins the garden.

The village grew, crops flourished, cattle and sheep farming prospered and new houses and shops were built.  The river powered their sawmill, flour mill, planing mill and woolen mill.  Brick and ropemaking were developed  By the mid-1830s, Zoar was virtually self-sustaining.  They produced an excess of food, flour, meat, hides, eggs, butter and poultry which was sold to other towns. By 1852, their assets were valued at more than $1 million!  But times were changing!  Joseph Bimeler died in 1853, leaving no experienced successor.  The social and economic environment was changing in the U.S.  The rise of mass production made Zoar's smaller handmade businesses obselete.  Younger members also drifted off to make their fortunes.  The members of the Society voted to dissolve in 1898 and the common property was divided among members with each receiving about 50 acres, $200 and other property.   Zoar is considered one of the most successful and long-lasting communal communities in America with 81 years of existence.

Today the village is run by the Zoar Community Association to preserve the history and heritage of Historic Zoar Village.and 75 families live in Zoar with a population of about 170.  There are 10 restored buildings, with a number owned by the Ohio Historical Society, which began buying and restoring some of the original village buildings in 1942. 

The goal is to show Zoar as it appeared in the days of its greatest prosperity.  Zoar tours are self-guided with costumed interpreters in the Town Hall Museum, the Bimeler House or #1 House, The Garden and Garden House, the Tin Shop, the Blacksmith Shop, the Bakery and sometimes the Zoar Church.  The Zoar Cemetery is interesting with a number of Civil War graves as well as Bimeler's grave.  Zoar Lake is also accessible and this section of the Ohio and Erie Canal is nearby but not functional other than as a biking or walking path now. There are several annual festivals in Zoar and in September 19-20, 2015 there will be a Civil War reenactment of the Battle of Sailor's Creek.  We really enjoyed our visit to Zoar!

Zoar Sources: Websites of the Ohio Historical Society and National Parks Service furnished historical information.