Zoar Grist Mill on the Ohio and Erie Canal photograph   Save
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Description: photograph depicts the grist mill that spanned the Ohio and Erie Canal near Zoar, Ohio, in 1893. The mill was built in 1858 and operated by the Society of Separatists of Zoar until the dissolution of their communal economy in 1898. The Society of Separatists of Zoar were a group of German religious dissenters who immigrated to Ohio in 1817. Finding it difficult to make ends meet on their own, they formed a communal society in 1819 in which all members shared equally. After a few hard years, the group became solvent by helping build seven miles of the Ohio and Erie Canal, which passed through their lands. The canal enabled them to get their produce to market and allowed them to be financially successful. The Zoarites manufactured much of what they needed themselves. The village of Zoar, named for the Biblical city that Lot fled to from Sodom and Gomorrah, included grist mills, a wool factory, iron furnaces, a tannery, a foundry, garden, and store. After leader Joseph Bimeler (1778-1853) died, however, the group experienced a slow decline, since no one could match his business or spiritual leadership. Tourism helped keep the community afloat for a while, but in 1898, the society disbanded and its assets were divided. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00893
Subjects: Zoar (Tuscarawas County, Ohio);
Places: Zoar (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)