A diverse and "beautiful spring" in Tuscarawas County

One of Ohio's first settlements was a diverse little village nestled in what is today on the outskirts of New Philadelphia in Tuscarawas County.  Schoenbrunn Village was a Moravian settlement, dating from 1772, that brought religion to the natives of Ohio.  Led by David Zeisberger, natives, primarily Delaware, were asked to abandon their traditional way of life to take up a Christian lifestyle in the village.  By all accounts the settlement enjoyed success in its mission and at its greatest had over 400 living within its walls that included natives from nine tribes, with the majority being Delaware. 

Interior of a larger home at Schoenbrunn

Originally from what is today the Czech Republic, Moravians named this village "Beautiful Spring" in German. The settlement, with a grand total of 28 men, women, children and a herd of cattle, moved to Ohio from northeast Pennsylvania where the Moravians and Delaware had spiritually worked together since 1734.  The location was chosen by a Delaware Chief, Netawates, or in English, Newcomer.  Just 20 miles from New Philadelphia lies the Ohio town, Newcomerstown, which English traders named in honor of the chief and had over 100 homes in the area by the 1770s. The Delaware called the Schoenbrunn location "Welhik T'uppek."

The Moravians, however, were pacifists and in the mid 1770s the Revolutionary War was reaching even into the Ohio territory.  Ft. Laurens, in what is today Bolivar, Ohio, was built in 1778 and the western theater of the war saw fighting in the northeastern Ohio territory.

Living somewhat apolitically in a self-sufficient community of Delaware and former Europeans, there was distrust by other settlers in the area whether the village was patriot or loyalist.  By 1778 the village was abandoned, but not before the church was taken apart to prevent desecration by others.  The village was reoccupied later that year, but only briefly as war continued to threaten the region.

The property in the early 1800s reverted to what much of Ohio had become: farmland.  Over 150 years later a minister of the Moravian Church, which still exists today, began researching the "lost" village.  Church records in Bethlehem, Pa., showed plat maps and journals by Zeisberger of the village's five-year run.  In 1923 the Ohio Historical Society took ownership and began to reconstruct the village.

A period interpreter stands outside a home at Schoenbrunn

The Visitor's Center at the site hosts a small, two-room museum displaying artifacts from archaeological digs. A conference room in the center doubles as a type of theater which loops a video of the construction of the village by the Ohio Historical Society.  Pictures along the walls show various stages of construction of the village, including an unusual aerial photo from 1930s that show how the land looked very different in the mid 1900s.  At the time of the dedication of the first re-constructed building, cars were parked haphazardly all over the farmer's field.  Today forest has grown around the village, restoring much of the look of the original village.

The school house glass window reflects more of the village

Of the 60 structures in the original village, today only 17 have been reconstructed.  Some of the buildings have been built upon the original foundation footprint from the 1770's. Moravian villages were spiritually laid out in the pattern of a cross, although the landscape at Schoenbrunn only allowed for a "T" pattern.  Anchoring the intersection of the two lines are the church and schoolhouse, both impressive structures.  Both contain glass windows, a rarity for frontier Ohio.  Records show glass was brought to the village and even today the wavy look of leaded glass adds authenticity to the recreated structures.

The schoolhouse, where period interpreters today will sometimes teach visitors Lenape, the Delaware language, was the first established school in Ohio.  However this is done in two "choirs" -- these were youngsters of the same age, gender and marital status.  Girls sat on one side of the room, boys on the other.

A period interpreter working on wooden hinges. 
The schoolhouse is the building in the background.

A visit to the village today on a weekend or special events day will yield period-costumed interpreters who will share the wares of the time. In one home a lady shared contemporary devices and their 1770s counterparts.  A woodworker along the main village way was constructing wooden hinges -- metal was another rare commodity in the woods of Ohio at the time. On a Children's Day, a colonial magic show kept little ones spellbound while a few houses down kids played colonial era games.

Schoenbrunn Villages fencing

Schoenbrunn also boasts a unique fortified fence, where poles, about 12 inches in diameter, were driven into the ground and seemingly stands at odds with a people of a pacifist nature.  It is only along the main avenue of the village.  Oustside the fence is the corn field, where children would alternate taking turns shooing away the wildlife. Corn was essential to the village and outside one home stands what could best be described as a colonial corn kerneler.  The raised notches in the drum would strip the niblets off the cob.

A colonial corn kerneler

As with many historical sites around Ohio, Schoenbrunn fell on hard times as state monies were diverted elsewhere.  The originally re-created village was renovated in the past decade to address decay that had crept in to the buildings.

Period interpreters, even the young ones, like to play

Today Schoenbrunn has undergone yet another re-birth and is being operated locally by the Dennison Railroad Depot. Throughout the year there are events such as a colonial trade fair, lantern tours and children's day.  All of these offer very unique and hands-on history and have added to the allure of stepping back into time to before Ohio's birth as a state when diversity was practiced long before its time.

- J.


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