Zoar Lives!!

I went to Zoar this past weekend. I didn’t know Zoar existed until Friday night, when I mentioned to some friends that my wife and I were looking for a day trip destination for Saturday. My friend said: “Why don’t you go to Zoar?” Whoa !!! My mind was immediately filled with visions of far off planets and big breasted women, like some bad 1950’s space movie. Zoar Lives!!!; Revenge of the Zoar Women; The Attack of the Amazon Zoarites.

He quickly advised me no such luck. Zoar is a village located in Tuscawaras County south of Canton. Tuscawaras? Wait a minute. Tuscawaras Bimbos v. The Mutant Zoars. Get the popcorn quick!! Is Raquel Welch anywhere? How about Jane Fonda? Watch Barbarella do here thing. STOP!

So we took my friend's advice, and got in our car and trekked our way to where no man has gone before. Zoar is actually a really nice little village. It was founded in 1817 by a group of German separatists who attempted to establish a communal community ala the Shakers or any of a dozen other utopian societies. They came straight from Germany claiming religious persecution by the Lutherans….bad Lutherans!! They bought the land sight unseen….funded the land purchase by assisting the State of Ohio in building the Ohio Erie Canal…and gave up the ghost when the founder died in the late 1850’s.

This is a charming place. It isn’t very big, and still has a population of 193. But the buildings are meticulously maintained. There are a number of charming B and B’s in the village, as well as several museums and several gift shops. Those of you from this area are probably familiar with Volant, PA. It something like that…only classier and not quite so commercial! It’s nice.

The Zoar Community Association sponsors a number of events throughout the year. There appears to be a series of harvest dinners. This past weekend was its Harvest Festival, with an outstanding antique show. Vendors from as far away as Maine were displaying their wares. And this wasn’t junk. In fact, it is the priciest show I have been to in a long time. If you are into the needle arts, there were $1,000.00 quilts and pieces of antique embroidery within the same price range.

Scattered throughout the rest of the village were a number of other artisans and vendors…all of which were a cut above some of the run of the mill stuff you usually see. There was actually a 150 year old house for sale and the enterprising realtor had an open house. I’d buy the place if I lived there. It was gorgeous, complete with landscaped gardens, and a garage with a separate store or small residence.

Speaking of landscaped gardens, in the center of the village is a mammoth communal square with a giant pine tree right in the middle. The surrounding grounds are completely exposed to the sun and exquisitely landscaped. I read that this concept is rooted in Revelations, the tree representing Christ, and each of the other landscape elements representing aspects of the Zoar religion. These folks know how to garden.

Zoar is a pretty place to drive through on a Sunday afternoon. It is a great place to visit if it is running one of its events. They have a major event in October, and a Christmas hoop-de-do in December. We plan on going to that one.

From Youngstown, it’s located about 18 miles on the other side of Hanoverton. Driver beware…detours turned the 60 mile/1 hour trip into a 2 ½ hour travel nightmare. An easier, although less scenic route, is to take I 77 about 10 -15 miles past Canton. It is only 3 miles off the freeway. Atwood Lodge is nearby, along with numerous other offerings in historic Tuscawaras County. There is the Zoar Wildlife Preserve and Zoar Lake, and a large Amish community in the area. You can check out Zoar village activites at the Zoar Community Association web site.

And if you find any of those busty Zoar women wielding laser guns…please let me know! Lord, I've given myself the vapors.