zoar,ohio, founded in 1817

          a religious group from germany of german separatists , arrived via philadelphia around 1817 to collectively name the town  zoar, after the place lot went to after leaving sodom, according to the old testament in the book of genesis.  and immediately they set up housekeeping on land they had purchased from their work in philadelphia..houses were built and times were hard as they struggled individually to build their own lodgings and such. 

        the idea was passed around to engage in communal living where as they would donate their portion of land to allow the community to help support them. men lived in one house and the women and children lived in another. they flourished according to historical accounts as they helped build a 6 mile portion of canal that went right past their town. in fact things were going so well that trade was setup between the zoarite community and the public that the town prospered.  artisans crafted tin works , carpenters provided furniture and housing. craftsman of all trades were represented .in the early years prior to 1853. and it seems that at about that time , one of the founders of zoar, a joseph bimeler passed away and then people began to lose interest in being a commune, and by 1898 the final members of the commune decided to end the commune , but zoar continued on as a city. Zoar, Ohio - Ohio History Central - A product of the Ohio Historical Society

           around 37  years later , the town was revitalized by the new dam located on st rt. 800 and this required a massive levee structure to be built in place of the canal that once fed the town but was now defunct. this allowed the surrounding area to be used as a basin for storing excess water from dover dam during heavy rainfall periods. well subsequent recent 500 year storms as they are called have called into question , whether these structures are safe . in fact debate is still under way to save the town of zoar at its pressent location or move it to another dry location at a higher elevation thus eliminating the need for levee control. 

      this is an excellent example of early pioneer living as you travel around zoar. it is owned by the ohio historical society and they as well as other craftsman maintain a chance to perceive what it was like to being an early pioneeer as they guide you through the town. generally most of the population lives above the proposed new levels of flooding. but unfortunately , most of the historical district lies in the lower elevations of the town.
       to simply raze the structures to avoid spending at least 30 million more to upgrade the levee to protect against another 500 year storm , isn't even worth consideration. significant amounts of money has been used already to maintain these beautiful buildings. but this investment has so far paid off in terms of bringing in tourism dollars.

      one solution might be to remove any residential housing from the historic district in the event it might flood. historic buildings might have originally dealt with flood water at some time since 1817 as i am sure dam or no dam across the tuscarawas river i am sure the town was wet at some time due to its close proximity to the river. if the buildings would flood , the damage could be minimization and people could return to work.

      anyhow it is always interesting to travel around town and look at buildings. also if you get a chance to visitWestbrook's Cannery | Facebook- westbrook cannery , i would suggest it for a chance to view a bear of mine there by the cash register. these women can a variety of different things and offer canning classes to those who want to can fruits and vegetables.