Zoar villagers harvesting crops photograph   Save
Zoar, Ohio Photograph Collection
Description: This photograph shows members of the Society of Separatists of Zoar harvesting crops in a field located at the northeast end of Zoar village. The older man pictured in the foreground is Michael Miller, the last Separatist who immigrated to Zoar from Germany. 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: AL00828
Subjects: Zoar (Tuscarawas County, Ohio); Agriculture; Rural life; Harvesting
Places: Zoar (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)