While we were camping in Amish country last October, we decided to drive out to Zoar, OH -- another town based on a religious community, but not Amish. Zoar is less than an hour from where we were located in Amish country.
The settlers of this town were German separatists, who immigrated to escape persecution in their own country. They had quite a rough go of it, as they did not have help similar to what the Amish had when they came.
Zoar's history is just as interesting as Amish history, if not more so.
Part of its charm, as a town, is that people actually live in the historic, numbered houses, and as far as I can tell, the residents of the town keep the historical stories alive.
The drawback to this, is that Zoar is not primarily set up for tourists -- and there wasn't a lot open. Fortunately, we had packed a picnic lunch. And there were public restrooms.
The weather decided to be gorgeous that one particular day, and we almost even got hot walking around the town.
This garden in the center of the town is built around some religious ideas having to do with the Book of Revelation. It was at the end of its season, of course, but pretty nevertheless, and we were able to walk in it and enjoy it.
It was amazing seeing all these old, old log cabins and houses -- most with additions which had been built on over the years. The houses of the original religious town were marked with numbers, so you could go and see them all, and find out about the people who originally owned them.
Wannie and Joman
particularly enjoyed the fine weather. Wannie was really getting quite heavy to carry around for lengths of time, so we kept swapping duties.
Gater was anti-shoes that day. After picking them up off the ground 3,206 times, we gave in and let her go barefoot.
The residents of Zoar take evident pride in their town -- and so would you, if you lived there. I wanted to move there pretty much immediately. Such a quiet, pretty little place.
We really had a very nice day, walking around Zoar! Zoar is located by the Erie Canal, which we discovered quite by accident as we were walking around.
I think we may try to visit again when some of the buildings are open, and do a more comprehensive tour. It's a place to see!
The settlers of this town were German separatists, who immigrated to escape persecution in their own country. They had quite a rough go of it, as they did not have help similar to what the Amish had when they came.
Zoar's history is just as interesting as Amish history, if not more so.
Part of its charm, as a town, is that people actually live in the historic, numbered houses, and as far as I can tell, the residents of the town keep the historical stories alive.
The drawback to this, is that Zoar is not primarily set up for tourists -- and there wasn't a lot open. Fortunately, we had packed a picnic lunch. And there were public restrooms.
The weather decided to be gorgeous that one particular day, and we almost even got hot walking around the town.
This garden in the center of the town is built around some religious ideas having to do with the Book of Revelation. It was at the end of its season, of course, but pretty nevertheless, and we were able to walk in it and enjoy it.
It was amazing seeing all these old, old log cabins and houses -- most with additions which had been built on over the years. The houses of the original religious town were marked with numbers, so you could go and see them all, and find out about the people who originally owned them.
Wannie and Joman
particularly enjoyed the fine weather. Wannie was really getting quite heavy to carry around for lengths of time, so we kept swapping duties.
Gater was anti-shoes that day. After picking them up off the ground 3,206 times, we gave in and let her go barefoot.
The residents of Zoar take evident pride in their town -- and so would you, if you lived there. I wanted to move there pretty much immediately. Such a quiet, pretty little place.
We really had a very nice day, walking around Zoar! Zoar is located by the Erie Canal, which we discovered quite by accident as we were walking around.
I think we may try to visit again when some of the buildings are open, and do a more comprehensive tour. It's a place to see!
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