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Zoar Village

Zoar · Tuscarawas County · Eastern Ohio

A National Historic Landmark built by German separatists

National Historic LandmarkBuckeye Trail Town

Visiting information you can trust

Check before driving — this site is seasonal, approximate, privately run, or otherwise uncertain. Confirm hours and access with the official source above.

Content last reviewed: September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source: Official page
Location confidence: Verified entrance or visitor center
Historic Zoar Village, 198 Main St, Zoar
Seasonal access: Store, March to December: Wednesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Tours, April to May: Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday noon to 4 p.m.; June to September: Wednesday to Saturday.
Check current conditions: Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets: Tickets or admission info

Prices, hours, closures, campsite availability and trail conditions shown elsewhere on this page are not live — always confirm with the official source before you go.

A well-preserved communal village founded by German separatists in 1817, on the Ohio & Erie Canal.

Settled: 1817 by about 200 to 300 German religious dissenters from Württemberg
Society: The Society of Separatists of Zoar, formed on April 19, 1819, held everything in common
Leader: Joseph Bimeler, a pipe maker and teacher who led the society until 1853
Disbanded: 1898, when the community divided its property
Land: 5,500 acres bought for $15,000 on a 15-year loan; more than 10,000 acres by the 1850s
Today: About ten restored buildings and a preserved garden, on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail

The story

Zoar was founded in 1817 by German Separatists who left Württemberg to escape persecution by the Lutheran church. They thought worship should be simple and personal, without ceremony. Led by Joseph Bimeler, a pipe maker and teacher from Ulm, they bought 5,500 acres on the Tuscarawas River for $15,000 on a 15-year loan. The first winter nearly destroyed them, and on April 19, 1819 they formed the Society of Separatists of Zoar, giving all property to the community in return for support.

The society survived by working. Its members dug their stretch of the Ohio & Erie Canal for pay, which helped them pay off the land, and farmed, made iron and ran mills and a hotel. It reached its greatest prosperity in the 1850s, with more than 10,000 acres and a worth of about $1 million. After Bimeler died on August 31, 1853, the community's cohesion loosened, and in 1898 the members divided the property. The village on the canal preserves its garden, the 1833 Zoar Store and other buildings.

Related sites

The Village That Shared Everything

Around 1819 the first winter had almost killed the settlers, and they made a bargain. Every man, woman and child signed the same paper, gave everything they owned to the village and were fed and housed in return. For 79 years, until 1898, nobody in Zoar owned a thing.

The community made money digging the canal, making iron, running a hotel and farming, and at its height was worth about a million dollars. It ended, as many such communities did, when the children who had never known persecution stopped seeing the point.

Behind the legend

The 1819 society, the 1853 death of Bimeler and the 1898 dissolution are in the Ohio History Connection and Wikipedia accounts. Numbers differ: the original party is 200, 300 or 'about 300' depending on the source, and the society's acreage is given as 5,500, 7,000 or 10,000. One source gives the founding date as 1871, which is a typo for 1817.

If you go

Walk the garden, visit the Zoar Store and eat in the village. It's on the Buckeye Trail's Massillon Section and the towpath.

Visiting

Status

Open seasonally

Managed by

Ohio History Connection and the Zoar Community Association

Hours

Store, March to December: Wednesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Tours, April to May: Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday noon to 4 p.m.; June to September: Wednesday to Saturday.

Admission

Adults $8, youth 5 to 17 $4; a combination ticket with Fort Laurens is $10 for adults and $5 for youth.

Phone

See the Ohio History Connection

Please note

Some historic buildings are private homes, shops and inns; respect the residents.

Address

198 Main St, Zoar, OH 44697

Official information →Directions Find trails nearby on AllTrails →

Hours and prices change. Confirm with the site before you go.