Zoar Village

Today, we had a wonderful field trip together. I had originally planned to go with a group of people, but none of them came. At first, I was disappointed. Still, I had been looking forward to going on this trip for many months, so I decided that we were going to have a good day together, mom and daughters.

We visited Zoar Village in Tuscarawas County, Ohio.

Having never been there before, I had no idea where to park or pay admission, etc. I did manage to see some signs and found where to go quite easily, despite initial concerns. I was pushing a stroller, which turned out to be quite awkward in many instances, and was not allowed in most buildings. Considering how far apart the buildings are, I don't think I could have gone without it. Still, I was not deterred. We were all in a wonderful mood, and as it turns out, not having my friends was fine, because we made some new ones who traveled the entire day with us (and helped with the stroller to boot.)

My daughter was witness to many historical activities and lessons and was able to participate in many activities herself. She carried a yoke with 2 milk buckets full of bricks, churned butter, ground coffee, sewed a sachet, planted a seed, participated in a tree-dedication ceremony and helped to shovel dirt onto a new apple tree, helped spin wool, kneaded and rolled dough into a pretzel, put in and removed bread from a hearth oven, punched tin and more. She was able to touch and hold many artifacts that she had never seen before, had every question answered (many!), and explored every room and cellar in the place.


I found the staff extremely friendly and knowledgable. Most were willing to talk at length about any subject and each was very welcoming, often asking the children's names when we entered.


I won't go into details of what is found there. I do highly recommend a visit to anyone interested in American history. We had such a good time that we lost track of time and spent the whole day there, open to close. We also enjoyed the gift shop, which I found reasonably priced compared to other gift shops I've visited.

The rain held off and the sun came out. We even shed our extra jackets after a few hours. For those of you who are easily scared off by threats of bad weather, don't let it keep you from enjoying yourself. Zoar was worth risking a little rain. I will happily go again.