Licensed Manufacturers of Incandescent Lamps meeting in Zoar   Save
Zoar meeting of the Licensed Manufacturers of Incandescent Lamps
Description: Dated 1904, this photograph shows members of the Licensed Manufacturers of Incandescent Lamps in front of the Zoar Hotel for a meeting from October 14-16. During this time the men engaged in a variety of social activities, including the hay ride pictured. 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: AL03337
Subjects: Zoar (Tuscarawas County, Ohio); Society of Separatists of Zoar; Hotels; Small towns; Hats
Places: Zoar (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)