Save Historic Zoar: Village has rich heritage in Tuscarawas Valley
In the early 1800s, a small group of pious Christian peasants residing in Germany strongly dissented with the teachings of the established Lutheran Church. They felt that the church had strayed from Biblical truths. They could not, in good conscience, allow their children to any longer attend the schools, which were operated by the clergy, because they were afraid their children would be falsely indoctrinated. They also, being pacifists, would not allow their young men to serve as soldiers. These actions placed them at direct odds with both the secular and religious authorities of the day, who fined them heavily, beat them, and even imprisoned members of the group to try and change their ways.
After more than a decade of persecution for their beliefs, the group was able to move and settle briefly in Wurtemberg, in southern Germany. The peace did not last long. Soon they were again persecuted for their faith, so those of the group who had the financial resources to do so paid for all of them to board a ship destined for America, where they hoped to practice their faith openly and without fear. Kindly English Quakers wished to help, and sent money ahead to a group of American Quakers (a reported sum of $18 per immigrant) to assist them once they landed.
In August of 1817, the small band arrived in Philadelphia, where the Quakers helped them purchase 5,600 acres for $3 per acre. Immediately a group of men, along with their leader, Joseph Bimeler, set out for the parcel in the Ohio wilderness, building the first cabin Dec. 1, 1817. The rest of the group soon followed, but found themselves forced to work as hired labor to even barely survive. It quickly became evident that the intended division of the land for private ownership was not going to work, because quite a few of the settlers were either too impoverished to pay, or too elderly or weak to work. By April 15, 1819, the 225 people of the group agreed to form a communal society.
The society shared all they had with each other, and all held equal votes, including the women. They cooked in their own homes, but all bread was made in the communal bakery. Initially, all children over the age of 3 were cared for collectively in dormitories, and children went to school until age 15, when they went to work. The idealism of the new Utopian society prohibited marriage until about 1830, when it was finally grudgingly allowed by the leadership ‘in order to allow for procreation.’ Even the leader, Bimeler, then took a wife, although no one was permitted to marry outside of their community. In 1832, the Separatist Society of Zoar became official.
When the canal was built through the area in 1827, the society acquired a great deal of wealth. By 1874, the community had grown to 300 members, and owned more than 7,000 acres of fertile farmland. They operated a woolen factory, mills, dye house, tannery; machine, blacksmith and carpenter, and clothing shops; cider mill, brewery, and a country store. The Zoar Hotel became a sought after place of lodging for summer tourists. Net worth of the society was more than a million dollars (in 1874 dollars). However, Bimeler had died on August 31, 1853, and the society had begun to slowly unravel. In 1898, the village made the choice to disband the society, and the holdings were divided. The Separatist Society of Zoar no longer existed.
Charles Nordoff, a writer of the time, observed that Zoar “was perhaps still a step higher, more decent, more free from disagreeables, and upon a higher moral scale, than the average life of the surrounding country. And if this is true, the community life has even here achieved moral results, as it certainly has material, worthy of the effort.”
Today Historic Zoar is, indeed, worthy of the effort.
(Note: Historic Zoar Village is in danger of disappearing. Its fate rests on an 18-month study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to either repair the damaged levee protecting the village, tear down the village and allow the area to flood, or relocate the village of Zoar to higher ground. Letters of support for the village are needed and can be sent to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District, 502 Eighth St., Huntington, WV 25701-2070, emails to: zoarlevee@usace.army.mil, or phone calls to 304-399-5720.
After more than a decade of persecution for their beliefs, the group was able to move and settle briefly in Wurtemberg, in southern Germany. The peace did not last long. Soon they were again persecuted for their faith, so those of the group who had the financial resources to do so paid for all of them to board a ship destined for America, where they hoped to practice their faith openly and without fear. Kindly English Quakers wished to help, and sent money ahead to a group of American Quakers (a reported sum of $18 per immigrant) to assist them once they landed.
In August of 1817, the small band arrived in Philadelphia, where the Quakers helped them purchase 5,600 acres for $3 per acre. Immediately a group of men, along with their leader, Joseph Bimeler, set out for the parcel in the Ohio wilderness, building the first cabin Dec. 1, 1817. The rest of the group soon followed, but found themselves forced to work as hired labor to even barely survive. It quickly became evident that the intended division of the land for private ownership was not going to work, because quite a few of the settlers were either too impoverished to pay, or too elderly or weak to work. By April 15, 1819, the 225 people of the group agreed to form a communal society.
The society shared all they had with each other, and all held equal votes, including the women. They cooked in their own homes, but all bread was made in the communal bakery. Initially, all children over the age of 3 were cared for collectively in dormitories, and children went to school until age 15, when they went to work. The idealism of the new Utopian society prohibited marriage until about 1830, when it was finally grudgingly allowed by the leadership ‘in order to allow for procreation.’ Even the leader, Bimeler, then took a wife, although no one was permitted to marry outside of their community. In 1832, the Separatist Society of Zoar became official.
When the canal was built through the area in 1827, the society acquired a great deal of wealth. By 1874, the community had grown to 300 members, and owned more than 7,000 acres of fertile farmland. They operated a woolen factory, mills, dye house, tannery; machine, blacksmith and carpenter, and clothing shops; cider mill, brewery, and a country store. The Zoar Hotel became a sought after place of lodging for summer tourists. Net worth of the society was more than a million dollars (in 1874 dollars). However, Bimeler had died on August 31, 1853, and the society had begun to slowly unravel. In 1898, the village made the choice to disband the society, and the holdings were divided. The Separatist Society of Zoar no longer existed.
Charles Nordoff, a writer of the time, observed that Zoar “was perhaps still a step higher, more decent, more free from disagreeables, and upon a higher moral scale, than the average life of the surrounding country. And if this is true, the community life has even here achieved moral results, as it certainly has material, worthy of the effort.”
Today Historic Zoar is, indeed, worthy of the effort.
(Note: Historic Zoar Village is in danger of disappearing. Its fate rests on an 18-month study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to either repair the damaged levee protecting the village, tear down the village and allow the area to flood, or relocate the village of Zoar to higher ground. Letters of support for the village are needed and can be sent to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District, 502 Eighth St., Huntington, WV 25701-2070, emails to: zoarlevee@usace.army.mil, or phone calls to 304-399-5720.
Published: October 4, 2011
