Description: Photograph showing a laundry and service house in Zoar. Led by Joseph Bimeler in 1817, a group of Lutheran separatists left the area of Germany known as Wurttemberg and eventually established the small community of Zoar in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. They would become known as the Society of Separatists of Zoar in 1819. After Bimeler's death in 1853, the unity of the village declined, and by 1898 the Zoarites disbanded the society. The remaining residents divided the property, and the community continued to prosper in Zoar. Today, the Ohio Historical Society operates a portion of the town as a historic site. A number of the Zoarite buildings are restored and are open to the public. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV9_B02F11_001
Subjects: Zoar (Tuscarawas County, Ohio); Small towns; Small businesses
Places: Zoar (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)
 

Description: A negative photograph showing a tailor shop and store in Zoar village. Led by Joseph Bimeler in 1817, a group of Lutheran separatists left the area of Germany known as Wurttemberg and eventually established the small community of Zoar in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. They would become known as the Society of Separatists of Zoar in 1819. After Bimeler's death in 1853, the unity of the village declined, and by 1898 the Zoarites disbanded the society. The remaining residents divided the property, and the community continued to prosper in Zoar. Today, the Ohio Historical Society operates a portion of the town as a historic site. A number of the Zoarite buildings are restored and are open to the public. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV9_B03F08_002_001
Subjects: Zoar (Tuscarawas County, Ohio); Historic buildings; Small businesses
Places: Zoar (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photographic reproduction shows the shoe shop on Fourth Street in Zoar, Ohio, ca. 1885-1895. The man in the doorway may be shoemaker Jacob Sylvan. From 1817 to 1820 this building was the cabin of Joseph M. Bimeler, the first leader of the Society of Separatists of Zoar, and also served as the Society's first meeting house. Led by Joseph Bimeler (sometimes spelled Bäumeler) in 1817, a group of Lutheran separatists left the area of Germany known as Wurttemberg and eventually established the small community of Zoar in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. The community of Zoar was not originally organized as a commune, but its residents had a difficult time surviving in 1818 and early 1819. As a result, on April 19, 1819, the group formed the Society of Separatists of Zoar. Each person donated his or her property to the community as a whole, and in exchange for their work, the society would provide for them. Additional modifications to the society's organization were made in 1824 and a constitution established in 1833. In the decades following the establishment of the Zoar commune, the Separatists experienced economic prosperity. The community was almost entirely self-sufficient and sold any surpluses to the outside world. In addition to agriculture, Zoar residents also worked in a number of industries, including flour mills, textiles, a tin shop, copper, wagon maker, two iron foundries, and several stores. The society also made money by contracting to build a seven-mile stretch of the Ohio and Erie Canal. The canal crossed over Zoar's property, and the society owned several canal boats. The canal traffic also brought other people into the community, who bought Zoar residents' goods. By the second half of the nineteenth century, the community was quite prosperous. After Bimeler's death in 1853, the unity of the village declined, and by 1898 the Zoarites disbanded the society. The remaining residents divided the property, and the community continued to prosper in Zoar. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00849
Subjects: Zoar (Tuscarawas County, Ohio); Society of Separatists of Zoar; Log cabins; Communal societies; Small businesses
Places: Zoar (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Taken by photographer Louis Baus, this photographic reproduction shows the Zoar Store, or general store, on Main Street in Zoar, Ohio, in Tuscarawas County in 1870. A group of men and three children stand on the store's porch. A handwritten note on the reverse of the photograph reads "Town Hall on Main St. built in 1887. Council Chamber on 2nd floor. Fire Dept. and Barber shop on ground floor. Photo. 1920." Led by Joseph Bimeler in 1817, a group of Lutheran separatists left the area of Germany known as Wurttemberg and eventually established the small community of Zoar in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. They would become known as the Society of Separatists of Zoar in 1819. After Bimeler's death in 1853, the unity of the village declined, and by 1898 the Zoarites disbanded the society. The remaining residents divided the property, and the community continued to prosper in Zoar. Louis Baus was a prominent photographer in Cleveland, Ohio, who began his career with studio work, but in 1911 became a staff writer for the "Cleveland Advocate, " a local newspaper that was later purchased by the "Cleveland Plain Dealer." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P223_B04_Series2Album1_19
Subjects: Zoar (Tuscarawas County, Ohio); Society of Separatists of Zoar; Zoar (Tuscarawas County, Ohio); Public buildings; Communal Societies; Small businesses
Places: Zoar (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows Howard Street in Akron, Ohio, in 1890. Streetcar rails run down the middle of the busy street. Horse-drawn wagons are parked on both sides of the street, and pedestrians are visible on the sidewalk. An advertising banner hangs above the street. Patches of snow are scattered on the street and walkways. Telegraph/telephone poles line the street. Miller & Roche, wholesale and retail grocers, were located on Howard Street. One of their establishments is visible in the left foreground. Another establishment in this photograph is S.E. Allen, a drugstore located at 193 Howard Street (far right, middle). By the mid-20th century, Howard Street become the center of African-American culture. It was home to many of the city's black-owned business and entertainment establishments, and provided an atmosphere in which minority-owned businesses could thrive. Attracted to the vitality of the neighborhood, entrepreneur George Mathews (1887-1982) established a barbershop here in 1920 and in 1925 opened the adjoining Mathews Hotel. The hotel quickly became the anchor of the Howard Street district. Mathews' success allowed him to endow a scholarship fund at the University of Akron in 1964. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06153
Subjects: Akron (Ohio); Streets--Ohio; Small business--Ohio; Businesses; African Americans--Ohio
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)