History · Zoar · established 1817

3 landmarks tell Zoar’s story

The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Zoar. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1817established

2old photos & papers

3historic places

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Zoar’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Zoar’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtZoar Historic District protects 58 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Zoar’s homes were built before 1938.A National Historic Landmark3 places on the National Register, including Zoar Historic District, a National Historic Landmark.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Zoar’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Zoar’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewCommunistic Societies of the United Sta…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the National Register

3 listings protect 62 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed

National Historic Landmark

Zoar Historic District

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1969

Zoar Historic District

in Ohio

#195

by listings

Districts★ landmark

★ Landmark

Zoar Historic DistrictDistrict

Zoar Historic District (Boundary Increase)District

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Zoar came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Zoar.

Read it all →

Zoar was founded by Radical Pietist Christian dissenters from Germany called the Society of Separatists of Zoar in 1817. It was named after the Biblical village to which Lot and his family escaped from Sodom. It was a communal society: All property was communally owned, and the farms, shops, and factories were managed by regularly elected trustees. The society attained its greatest prosperity in the 1850s, when it owned over 10,000 acres of land and was worth approximately $1 million. Many German-style structures have been restored and are part of the Zoar Village State Memorial. There are presently ten restored buildings. According to the Ohio Historical Connection, Zoar is an island of Old-World charm in east-central Ohio.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Zoar, 1817 to 2016

Woven from the archive, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1817
FoundingZoar is established
1875In the archiveCommunistic Societies of the United States Views in Zoar 1875
20th century
1933In the archiveEXTERIOR, WEST FRONT AND SOUTH SIDE - Zoar School, Fifth Street
21st century
2016LandmarkZoar Historic District named a National Historic Landmark

By decade

Zoar, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item

Communistic Societies of the United States Views in Zoar 1875

1875Communistic Societies of the United States Views in Z…

1930s1 item

EXTERIOR, WEST FRONT AND SOUTH SIDE - Zoar School, Fifth Street

1933EXTERIOR, WEST FRONT AND SOUTH SIDE - Zoar School, Fi…

1940s–1990snothing yet

Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Add from your album

Today4 recent

Map of Tuscarawas County Ohio Highlighting Zoar Village

2015Map of Tuscarawas County Ohio Highlighting Zoar Villa…Map

2012Canal Tavern of

2009Detailed map ofMap

2004OHMap-doton-Zoar

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewCommunistic Societies of the United States Views in Zoar 1875, 1875

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Zoar’s page.

Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

History across the town line

Wilkshire HillsIts story Lawrence3 historic places Sandy1 historic place

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Weigh in

Has Zoar changed for the better?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Start a conversation

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3) and Wikipedia. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.