>>> About two hours northeast of Columbus is a really interesting place known as Zoar Village.

It was a communal effort in the part of some separatist people dating from 1819 until the end of the 19th century.

There's some interesting historic architecture but it's still a living active community that people are welcome to visit and I'm really looking forward to learning more about this unusual place called Zoar.

Well, hello.

>>> Hello, hi, I'm Tammy.

>>> Hi, good to meet you I'm Jeff.

>>> I'm the site director for Historic Zoar Village and this is Bev, our tour guide.

>>> Nice to meet you.

>>> Nice to met you.

Well, I haven't been in Zoar in quite a while.

It's looking really good.

I remember the buildings here sometimes needed a little work, but it looks like they're all pretty well under control.

>>> Yeah, we take out great pride in the village and we've worked really hard these past few years to make the village just shine.

>>> Well, you've done a great job.

Now this is a property of the Ohio History Connection, is that correct?

>>> It is a partnership between the Ohio History Connection a nd the Zoar Community Association.

>>> Okay, so the whole village is a historic district, I understand.

I think it was listed in the National Register back in the 1970s, but it's also been elevated.

>>> In 2017, a whole village from 1st Street through 7th Street became a National Historic Landmark District.

>>> That's wonderful because that's a very high recognition of the importance of the place.

Well, I haven't been here in a while.

I'd love to have a tour.

You're obviously the people I need to talk to, so why don't you lead the way?

>>> Okay, absolutely.

>>> I'd like to welcome you to the number one house, if you wanna follow me.

>>> Oh, isn't this nice, the woodwork?

It's all original.

Number one house, it didn't have a name, it had a number.

>>> All of the homes in the village had a number.

You had two or three families to a home.

So instead of remembering everybody's name, they went by a house number.

And this would have been the number one.

>>> It is a big building.

It's brick, it's got stone pillars outside.

It looks like it was built especially as kind of the headquarters, would you say that's correct?

>>> In the beginning, in 1835, it was built with the intention of grandma and grandpa living here.

I hate to use the word institutionalized, but that's what it would have been.

A few actually came, but the majority refused.

We're staying with our families.

We're not going in that beautiful house.

So now they had this home, and what are they going to do with it?

Joseph Bimiler, who was the leader, decided to make it his home, also his office, along with three other families.

So now it is still a home.

>>> And these were separatists.

What did that mean?

>>> They separated themselves from the Lutheran religion.

But it was not just this group.

Everybody who took themselves from the religion were separatists.

This group decided after they had got here to just keep separatist along with Zoarites.

So this is what they were called.

>>> What's the derivation of the Zoar name?

I'm not familiar with.

>>> I'm going to take you to the Bible book of Genesis.

>>> Fair enough.

>>> All right, at that point in time was a lot of badness there.

And God decided we're gonna destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.

Now Lot was there along with his family and he requested to God, let me go somewhere where I will be safe.

He chose a little village in the area called Zoar.

>>> Ah ha.

>>> Everything else was destroyed, they were safe.

The group is now here in 1817.

They decided that God brought us here.

This is our city of refuge, Zoar.

>>> And that lasted almost all of the 19th century, isn't that right?

>>> All the way to 1898.

>>> Well, Zoar must have been sort of discovered at one point, just for its history and architecture.

There are museums here.

This is a museum building.

A lot of the other buildings are of museum quality, but it's a living village as well.

There are people who really live here.

>>> Absolutely, we have about 14 museums that we operate, but the rest are all private residences.

This building, number one house, is one of our main museums that offers a great introduction into the lives of the Separatist Zoar.

>>> Well, you mentioned there are other museums.

Can we have a look at those?

>>> Absolutely.

>>> Welcome to the Bimeler Museum.

This was a later residence of the Bimeler family.

Let's have a seat.

We have an original Zoar church bench here.

>>> Oh, look at this.

Oh, it's all fitted together so nicely.

They don't make them like they used to.

So this is not set up as a residence.

This is a museum.

>>> Correct.

The Bimeler Museum underwent an extensive restoration in 2017 and at that point it was decided to turn it into an art gallery or a place to host different traveling exhibits.

>>> Did you invite artists to come to town to do images or did this just collected over time?

>>> This is collected over time.

My earliest one is from the Civil War era.

Oh, really?

Up through a painting that was done last year.

We have over 72 paintings in this building right now.

>>> Now how did you find all of those?

That's remarkable.

>>> It was just kind of luck of the draw.

Once people heard that we had this exhibit and it was going to open, I've never seen local people come out so much to offer their paintings for loan.

>>> So Bev, what can you tell me about the house, some of the details?

>>> The house itself was built in 1868.

Now, it was originally for the Roof family.

Lillian Roof Bimeler received the home when she married William Bimeler, who was a great-grandson of Joseph Bimeler.

And Lillien, being kind of an upscale type lady, decided to begin to restore.

And she did certain things in the house was not common at first.

For instance, there's a fireplace.

All of the buildings did not have fireplaces.

They heated with a manufactured stove here called the Zoar.

>>> Oh, so they were made here.

>>> They were made here, they had discovered iron ore and you can do a lot with iron ore. >>> If you know what you're doing.

>>> That's for sure.

But now also, there's a bathroom here.

>>> That's unusual.

>>> And a kitchen here.

Of course by that time a lot of the other homes were already getting these things anyway.

But she gave it then as a gift to the Ohio Historic Society.

>>> Okay, okay.

Really, it's so well preserved.

Clearly, there was a lot of care all through the decades.

Well, Tammy, I've seen and learned so much today, but a little bit more I need to learn about.

Oh, absolutely.

Bev here has to go, but I'd be more than happy to show you.

Well, I'm sorry to see you go, but thanks, Bev.

You were such a great help.

Thank you.

>>> You are a fount of information.

>>> Thank you.

You enjoy your journey.

>>> Thanks.

I'll follow you.

>>> This is the magazine, and it's also the laundry, the dining room, and the kitchen.

>>> So it was a central laundry dining room kitchen.

Everybody gathered there to do laundry, cook and eat.

Is that what it was?

>>> Yes, especially the number one house.

It was also the magazine and distribution center for spices for the entire village.

>>> Were the clay tiles made here in Zoar?

>>> They were made here in Zoar.

>>> So there's a clay underlayment here somewhere, a clay quarry somewhere.

>>> Yes, yeah, it's right outside of what is town now.

But yes, they made the clay tiles.

They would also make some utilitarian vases, that sort of thing, cooking crocks, those, you know, items like that.

>>> Well, the garden's beautiful.

>>> Oh, the gardens are always... .

>>> And is that the Orangery over there?

The building with t he big windows, that was so they could grow food through the winter?

Was that the idea?

>>> That is, they could grow food throughout the winter and then they had some citrus trees in there, which was very, very rare for the time.

>>> That's, yeah, hence it was called the Orangery, at least that's what I recall it being called.

So we're going to visit a log house, is that correct?

>>> It is.

It was built in 1817 and we're pretty sure it was the first structure ever constructed in Zoar.

It was also the first home of leader Joseph Bimeler and the first meeting house for the society.

>>> What an intriguing building.

First one in the village, only one for a long time.

>>> Probably about a few months, yeah.

>>> Okay, and I think you said everything happened here.

People lived here, they conducted the business here, religious services here.

>>> Absolutely, yes, yeah, it was kind of the first everything in Zoar.

So the Zoar Community Association just acquired this building and we are very excited to have it.

>>> That's great.

I'm glad it's future is going to be secure.

It's a great place.

Well, I'm sure there's more to see.

>>> Absolutely, follow me.

>>> Be on our way.

So the hotel I know has been a challenge.

When was it last used as a hotel?

>>> 1981.

>>> 81.

I was actually occupied as a hotel.

>>> It was actually a restaurant for a number of years, but then yes, probably the last time it was a hotel was maybe the 1950s.

>>> Well, it's a little rough.

Needs some work.

>>> A little bit of work, yeah.

>>> But boy, this is interesting because you really get a chance to see what traditional braced frame construction was like.

And you can see there's split lath, it wasn't done with a saw, it was the people split thin pieces of wood to create the lath for the plaster.

Yeah, it's really fascinating.

What are plans for the building?

>>> The building was built in 1833.

So in 2033, it'll be the 200 year anniversary of the hotel.

So we're hoping to have some sort of plan in place by then.

There is some exterior work planned and it's really kind of finding the right use for the building.

It can be part museum, part Airbnb, part restaurant.

So there's a lot, a number of uses and it could be kind of all of the above.

>>> Well, as I've been saying all along, Zoar is a pretty amazing place.

I hope everybody in Ohio would like to visit.

What sort of schedule do you have?

>>> We are open five days a week, and then we have a number of special events including an antique and artisan show, which is one of Ohio's biggest.

>>> Is it really.

>>> We have a Civil War event every other year.

We do Christmas in Zoar.

All of the information can be found on our website.

>>> Well, thank you so much, it's been a great tour.

I've learned a lot about Zoar that I didn't know before and good luck for the future.

>>> Thank you.