The Village of Zoar, Ohio, Might Be Destroyed

The village of Zoar in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, was founded in 1817 by German religious dissenters as a communal society and represents an exceptional historic way of life. The village hasn't changed much in nearly two hundred years. Zoar is well known for it distinctive architectural and historic features. Now the U.S. Corps of Engineers wants to destroy Zoar.

The problem is a nearby levee on the Tuscarawas River, completed in 1937 to hold back the Tuscarawas River. The levee has been leaking for years, causing flooding in the village in 2005 and 2008. Repairs to the levee are estimated to cost in excess of $100 million. Options discussed by the Corps of Engineers include repairing the levee, replacing it, or removing it entirely, which would necessitate relocating more than three-fourths of the village. A final decision has not been made.

Local residents have taken action, however. Zoar has now been named one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Such a designation makes it more difficult for the Corps of Engineers to destroy the village.

You can read more in an article by Alan Johnson published in the Columbus Dispatch at http://goo.gl/hhDGV and in the Save Historic Zoar web site at http://www.savehistoriczoar.org/.

My thanks to newsletter reader Mary K. Freel for telling me about this story.