Travelling the rolling hills of the Amish Heartland, one is obviously aware of the Amish; their peaceful community has called the area home for more than 200 years.
But long before the Amish arrived in Ohio, the heartland was the setting of many bloody incidents which took place before, during and after the Revolutionary War. This is the story of two other peaceful groups, the Delaware Indians and the Moravian Christians, who were caught in the crossfire of that highly volatile period in American history.
For much of the 18th century, the Ohio Country was pure, vast wilderness. The British had closed the area to settlers, and it was occupied entirely by Indian tribes, some of whom had already been pushed out of their native lands by white colonists.
In the early 1770s, one of these tribes (the Delawares) invited a group of Moravian missionaries and their Christian converts from Pennsylvania, led by David Zeisberger, to establish a settlement in the Tuscarawas Valley. Knowing the area, the Delawares suggested using some land near the Tuscarawas River which included a large spring. The German-speaking missionaries fittingly named the place Schoenbrunn, or beautiful spring. Another Moravian mission, Gnadenhutten (tents of grace) was located nearby.
The Moravians, a German Protestant sect, firmly believed in pacifism and unity. As they set out to plat the village of Schoenbrunn, these values were evident. The plan for the mission was ordered and organized, with a lot for each family including room enough for a dwelling, garden, cow stable, chicken house and other outbuildings. A simple yet strong fence surrounded the entire settlement to protect the residents from wild animals. Field crops were raised outside the town proper.
Buildings in Schoenbrunn varied from rough, bark-covered dwellings to solidly built log structures with cellars and second stories. Community buildings, such as the schoolhouse and church, were built with everyone's help.
Surrounded by wilderness, agriculture was an absolute necessity for the residents of the mission. While leading by example and teaching the Indians Christian values, the missionaries respected the traditional customs and most living habits of the Delawares, so life in the mission closely resembled a Native American village. Traditional Indian crops were grown, including the three sisters - corn, beans and squash. In addition, many other types of vegetables, some grown on family lots, helped sustain the villagers throughout the cold Ohio winters.
The missionaries appreciated the Delawares' culture and encouraged them to continue traditional customs and arts such as canoe building, basket weaving, leatherwork and herbal medicines. At the same time, the Moravians, through their peaceful example, converted many of the Delawares to Christianity.
The government of the village was simple, yet progressive. It was made up of a group of missionaries and trusted Indian converts and included both men and women.
Likewise, the educational system of Schoenbrunn included both boys and girls, at a time when education (in both the colonies and the whole of Europe) was largely restricted to upper-class boys. As many as one hundred children attended the Schoenbrunn school, learning to read and write the Delaware language. Adults also took part in learning skills such as carpentry and working with metal.
Although life inside Schoenbrunn seemed peaceful and simple, outside events began to demand the attention of the missionaries. The American Revolution caused both British and American leaders to seek Indian allegiance. Although the Delawares initially remained neutral, they were pressured strongly from both sides. Eventually, the safety of the mission and its inhabitants became a pressing issue. After five years of development and labor, Zeisberger was forced to close the mission in 1777. After the last church service was held, the church building was destroyed to prevent its use by non-Christians. The inhabitants of Schoenbrunn moved to a nearby settlement, Lichtenau (near present-day Coshocton, Ohio). Soon, the Gnadenhutten converts followed.
In 1781, Zeisberger was taken to the British fort at Detroit to face charges of treason. After being exonerated, the missionaries were granted permission to return to the missions of the Tuscarawas Valley (New Schoenbrunn, Salem and Gnadenhutten) in early spring of 1782 to harvest what remained of the crops and retrieve some belongings which had been left. As they returned to the place that had been their home, these Christian Native Americans could never have known what was in store for them there.
Soon after the Delawares arrived at the sites of the two missions, Col. David Williamson and his band of Pennsylvania militiamen entered the Tuscarawas valley. Finding the Indians harvesting corn, the soldiers refused to distinguish between Christian and non-Christian redskins. They captured a group of the converts at Salem and Gnadenhutten and herded them into two huts at Gnadenhutten for the night.
Anticipating their deaths, the converts prayed and sang until the morning. Then they were taken from the huts in pairs and murdered. Sixty-two adults and thirty-four children were killed on March 7-8, 1782. Some of these were citizens of the original Schoenbrunn. Only two boys escaped to warn the converts at New Schoenbrunn and tell the horrific story to the world.
The incident became known as the Gnadenhutten Massacre, and fueled bitterness between the whites and the Indians for decades to come. However, the Moravians continued their work with the Native American peoples for many years. Eventually, the missionaries and converts found a permanent home in the Thames River region of Ontario, Canada. Their descendants still reside there.
Tuscarawas County, Ohio is still home to several Moravian churches. In the early 1920s, a Moravian minister, Joseph Weinland, began to campaign for the reconstruction of Schoenbrunn. Although the site was now a farmer's field, locals knew the location of the original village. Amazingly, the original town plan was also found in a Moravian church archive, allowing archaeologists and historians to recreate streets and buildings as they were more than two hundred years ago. By 1927 the first log house and the school had been reconstructed, and by 1935 fifteen buildings had sprung up on the site. The village was taking shape again.
Throughout the next thirty years, traditional Indian dwellings were added, and the European-style wattle fence that surrounded the village was rebuilt. Today, Schoenbrunn Village is a popular attraction, maintained by the Ohio Historical Society. It features seventeen reconstructed buildings, gardens, the original mission cemetery, a museum, picnic facilities, costumed interpreters and visitor center. The site functions as an educational and historical facility, as well as a memorial to the ideals upheld by the Moravian missionaries and their Native American friends - peace, brotherhood and unity.
Schoenbrunn Village State Memorial, East High Avenue, SR 259, New Philadelphia, Ohio 44663, (330) 339-3636, (800) 752-2711, www.ohiohistory.org. Hours: Memorial Day weekend-Labor Day: 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 12-5 p.m. Sun. After Labor Day-October: 9:3- a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.; 12-5 p.m. Sun. Groups of twenty or more by appointment. (July 2002 Edition)