Life in religious commune

The book looks at Zoar through pictures and visitors' recollections.
By THERESA M. HEGEL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
"A Singular People: Images of Zoar," by Kathleen M. Fernandez (Kent State University Press, $29.95)
Kathleen Fernandez's "A Singular People: Images of Zoar" is a valuable resource and outlines an interesting aspect of Ohio history.
Using vintage photographs and past visitors' vivid descriptions, Fernandez is able to paint a picture of Zoar -- a religious commune that lasted for approximately 80 years and thrived financially and spiritually for many of those years.
"The aim of this book is to pair these two media: the images of the mind, written by outsiders, and the images of the camera's eye. Both can tell volumes to today's visitor about what life was like -- or what it was perceived to be -- in the experiment in communal living that was Zoar, Ohio," Fernandez explains in her preface.
She does a fairly good job of this. The photographs she includes complement and illustrate the historical excerpts they are matched with. One medium enhances the other. With its glossy pages and attractive, uncluttered layout, the book is a worthy addition to any coffee table.
Fernandez also provides a brief history of the Zoar community and pertinent explanations for the photographs and quoted material.
Community's history
The village of Zoar is located on the Tuscarawas River in east central Ohio and was founded in 1817 by a group of religious dissenters who emigrated from southwest Germany. They made a break from the Lutheran Church and were persecuted for their Separatist beliefs.
Two years after the Separatists came to Ohio, they adopted a communal system "in which all would work for the benefit of the whole." Members relinquished their private property to the society and were in turn "provided with all the necessities of life."
One interesting facet of Zoar Separatists' culture was that women worked alongside men in the fields, performing many of the heavy tasks such as "hand threshing of grain."
Also, unlike some other religious communities, the people of Zoar did not discourage outsiders from observing their culture. In fact, tourism became an important industry for the village.
Of particular interest to visitors was Zoar's central garden, which symbolized "New Jerusalem as described in Revelation 21." Its "geometric paths promised ways to salvation," and "a towering Norway spruce" at the center of the garden represented Christ.
The area today
The communal Society of Separatists formally dissolved in 1898, and much of its distinctive architecture was altered or destroyed. Today, the Ohio Historical Society maintains several of Zoar's historical buildings and conducts guided tours featuring costumed interpreters.
Fernandez is the Ohio Historical Society's site manager at Zoar Village State Memorial. She is the newsletter editor and a board member of the Communal Studies Association, a board member of the Ohio & amp; Erie Canal Corridor Coalition and chairwoman of the Historic Attractions of Tuscarawas County committee.
hegel@vindy.com