On April 19, 1819, articles of association were signed by 53 men and 104 women establishing "The Society of Separatists of Zoar," in the Tuscarawas River Valley in east-central Ohio. Zoar was a communal society formed by German separatists who immigrated to Philadelphia in 1817.

Life proved hard for the small community and it looked as though their town would fail. They drew up and signed the articles of association, which said that all individual property and future earnings would become common stock.

They received a contract to dig seven miles of the Ohio-Erie Canal that passed through their land. The work was done in 1828, and the $21,000 payment erased their land debt. The canal brought commerce, and by the mid-1800s it had assets of more than $1 million.

The society disbanded by dividing the assets in 1898. About 75 families live in Zoar today.

- Rebecca Goodman

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com, or call 768-8361.