Brown Announces Village of Zoar Chosen as National Hisotric Landmark
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service (NPS) has designated the Zoar Historic District as a national historic landmark. This will provide Ohio and the local community with the opportunity to receive technical assistance and federal funding to preserve the site – bringing in visitors from around the country.
“The Village of Zoar is a tangible piece of history that tells one of the many stories of how people have immigrated to the United States seeking religious liberty and the freedom to choose their own way of life,” said Brown. “I am glad this extraordinary village was preserved and look forward to the renewed attention to beautiful Tuscarawas County that this national historic landmark designation will bring.”
The Village of Zoar was founded in 1817 by a group of separatists who fled Germany in search of religious freedom. Upon arriving in the United States, they founded the Society of Separatists of Zoar, a utopian community where women had the right to vote and were not legally prohibited from holding office. Through Zoar’s designation as a national historic landmark, visitors will have the opportunity to engage with the beliefs of utopian societies in 19th century America and the Society of Separatists’ varying attitudes toward gender equality and the social and economic role of women. This designation will also put a spotlight on the town’s design, customs, and architecture – many of which were influenced by the settlers’ German heritage.
In September 2012, Brown introduced a bipartisan bill to protect the Village of Zoar from relocation or demolition as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) studied ways to managethe town’s aging levee.
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