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The first
settlement: Gnadenhutten (Huts of Grace) was settled five months after
Schoenbrunn on October 9, 1772. Joshua, a Moravian Mohican Elder, brought a
large group of Christian Mohican Indians from Pennsylvania to this location:
thus the second Indian village was settled. Delawares at Schoenbrunn and
Mohicans at Gnadenhutten. This settlement grew rapidly, soon there were between
fifty and sixty cabins. the group worked hard and prospered, their standard of
living was high for that era on the frontier, their cabins had glass window,
they used pewter household utensils, they were adept in crafts and art work, and
loved music. The community had a spinet piano and one member played and led the
singing. They soon developed gardens and had droves of cattle, hogs, and horses.
Both the men and women worked which was shocking to the Indians of the other
tribes.
It was here that
the Roth child was born, July 4, 1773, who was the first white child born in
this territory. All went well until the Revolutionary War began and the English
at Detroit wanted all Indians to fight against the Americans. The local Indians
refused. Conditions were fairly quiet for a few months, but again the British
and the Indian Tribes to the west tried to persuade them to leave. When t hey
would not, in September 1781 troops and Indian warriors rounded up all the
Indians living in New Schoenbrunn, Gnadenhutten and Salem and took them to
Captives town. The trip was a terrible
experience as they were mistreated and their clothes and valuables were taken
from them. During the winter in the captive town many died of diseases brought
on by the lack of food. By late winter in 1781, conditions became so bad that
some of the Indian leaders asked permission to go back to their homes in the
Tuscarawas valley and bring back whatever food they could carry. Permission was
granted to 150. They arrived back home in February 1782 and were gathering food
and belongings, when they were surrounded by Pennsylvania Militiamen under
Colonel Williamson. Their weapons were taken away and they were told they would
be killed in the morning. They were accused of raiding the American Settlements
in Pennsylvania, giving aid to and comfort to parties of warriors, stealing
horses and other articles from Americans and that they had a dress that belonged
to an American woman who had been killed in a raid in Pennsylvania, etc.
So after a night of prayer and hymn singing ninety men, women and children were
massacred; then all cabins were set afire on March 8 1782. Two boys escaped to
warn others and to tell the story.
Present day Gnadenhutten had its beginning in 1798 when John
Heckewelder returned to this area sixteen years after the brutal massacre of
ninety Christian Indians in 1782. The government had set aside three tracts of
land, 4,000 acres each, for the Indians. When it was learned that they could not
use all the land, the Gnadenhutten Tract was opened for white settlers. Many
Moravian families from eastern Pennsylvania came to this area to live. John Heckewelder
built the first house in the new settlement in 1798.
A museum, owned and maintained by village council and the Gnadenhutten
Historical Society was opened in 1963. It displays many artifacts relating to
the history of Gnadenhutten and surrounding area. Close by is a monument,
erected in 1872, in memory of the ninety Christian Indians who were massacred on
March 8, 1782. During the 1970's excavation work revealed the sites of the two
buildings where the Indians spent the night before their death by the hands of
Colonel Williamson and his American militiamen. Those buildings, the Mission
House and Cooper Shop, have been restored and are located on their original
sites.
The early settlers' mode of transportation to this area was mostly by wagon.
When the Ohio Canal was built, 1825-1830, it passed in the vicinity of
Gnadenhutten and provided a better means for traveling and shipping goods. Many
immigrants used the canal boats to come here from Cleveland. When the canal was
partially destroyed during the 1913 flood it was never repaired. In 1853 a
railroad had been built through the village. The railroad was the principal
means of travel and freight transportation for many years.
For many years the village celebrated the Fourth of July with festivities and
fireworks. In recent years the celebrations have been a one day event. A Pioneer
Days Celebration is held each year the first weekend in August. Activities
include a Princess contest, pioneer encampment,
Crafts, Crock Auction and entertainment. A Native American Gathering during the
summer, Apple Butter Days, Car Show, and Fall Foliage Tour in October and a
Drive Through Christmas Display complete the events.
Gnadenhutten is a beautiful village in south central Tuscarawas County with a
population of approximately 1,300. It lies in the valley partly surrounded by
hills with the Tuscarawas River flowing along the southwest border. The two
principal streets, Walnut and Main, intersect in the downtown area. These two
streets are a spacious ninety-nine feet wide while the other streets in the
village are half that width. Citizens take pride in their town and work to keep
it clean and pleasant.
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