Editing Zoar, Ohio (section)

==History==
[[File:Communistic Societies of the United States Views in Zoar 1875.jpg|thumb|Views in Zoar, 1875]]
Zoar was founded by [[Radical Pietist]] Christian dissenters from [[Germany]] called the Society of Separatists of Zoar in 1817.<ref name="Frizzell2020"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Mangus|first1=Michael|last2=Herman|first2=Jennifer L.|title=Ohio Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bndxn4Qlt4EC&pg=PA592|year=2008|publisher=North American Book Dist LLC|isbn=978-1-878592-68-2|page=592}}</ref> It was named after [[Zoara|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ohiohistory.org/visit/browse-historical-sites/zoar-village/|title=Zoar Village|website=Ohio History Connection}}</ref><ref>Kathleen M. Fernandez, ''Zoar: The Story of an Intentional Community'' (Kent State University Press, 2019) [https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=55431 online review].</ref>

These Radical Pietists, also known as Separatists, or Zoarites, emigrated from the kingdom of [[Württemberg]] in southwestern Germany due to religious oppression from the Lutheran church. Leading among their group were some natives of [[Rottenacker]] on the [[Danube]]. Having separated from the established church, they based their theology in part on the writings of [[Jakob Böhme]]. They did not practice baptism or confirmation and did not celebrate religious holidays except for the Sabbath. A central flower garden in Zoar is based on the [[Book of Revelation]], with a towering tree (now cut down) in the middle representing Christ and other elements surrounding it representing other allegorical elements.

The leader of the society was named Joseph Bimeler (also known as Joseph Bäumler or Bäumeler, born 1778), a pipemaker as well as teacher from [[Ulm]]. His charismatic leadership carried the village through a number of crises. Bimeler led the society until his death, which occurred in 1853.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Joseph_Bimeler |title=Joseph Bimeler |website=Ohio History Central |language=en |access-date=September 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724174437/http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Joseph_Bimeler |archive-date=July 24, 2014}}</ref>

An early event critical to the success of the colony was the digging of the [[Ohio and Erie Canal]]. The Zoarites had purchased {{convert|5500|acre|km2|0}} of land sight unseen and used loans to pay for it. The loans were to be paid off by 1830. The Society struggled for many years to determine what products and services they could produce in their village to pay off the loans. The state of Ohio required some of the Zoarite land to be used as a right of way and offered the Zoarites an opportunity to assist in digging the canals for money. The state gave them a choice of digging it themselves for pay or having the state pay others to dig the canal. The Zoarites then spent several years in the 1820s digging the canal and thus were able to pay off their loans on time with much money to spare.

Bimeler's death on August 31, 1853, led to a slow decline in the cohesion of the village. By 1898, the village voted to disband the communal society, and the property was divided among the remaining residents.