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To urge the United States Army Corps of Engineers to | 1 |
take all actions necessary to preserve the Village | 2 |
of Zoar in its present location in Tuscarawas | 3 |
County by repairing a levee that is protecting the | 4 |
Village. | 5 |
WHEREAS, The Village of Zoar in Tuscarawas County was founded | 6 |
in 1817 by Christian immigrants from the Kingdom of Wurttemberg | 7 |
(Germany). The Zoarists were known as the Society of Separatists | 8 |
of Zoar. The Village functioned as a religious commune until 1898 | 9 |
and was one of many religious communes established throughout the | 10 |
United States in the nineteenth century; and | 11 |
WHEREAS, The Zoarists were deeply religious and egalitarian | 12 |
and valued hard work. They were farmers, craftspeople, and | 13 |
manufacturers whose wares were exported throughout the United | 14 |
States. The Zoarists also assisted in the construction of the Erie | 15 |
Canal. All that was earned by the Village community was shared | 16 |
among the Village's residents; and | 17 |
WHEREAS, After 1898 the Village of Zoar ceased to function as | 18 |
a religious commune, but it has retained its nineteenth century | 19 |
charm. The Village of Zoar is a significant tourist attraction in | 20 |
northeast Ohio and is a living and functioning monument to life in | 21 |
Ohio in the nineteenth century; and | 22 |
WHEREAS, Zoar abuts the Tuscarawas River and is protected | 23 |
from flooding by a levee. Though the levee is still functioning, | 24 |
water is seeping through the ground under the levee which may | 25 |
result in the undermining of the levee; and | 26 |
WHEREAS, The United States Army Corps of Engineers, which has | 27 |
jurisdiction over the levee, has proposed the following three | 28 |
solutions: repairing the levee; relocating all of the buildings in | 29 |
the flood area to higher ground; or breaching the levee and | 30 |
flooding the Village of Zoar; now therefore be it | 31 |
RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 129th General Assembly | 32 |
of the State of Ohio, in adopting this resolution, strongly urge | 33 |
the United States Army Corps of Engineers to take all actions | 34 |
necessary to repair the levee and to preserve the Village of Zoar | 35 |
in its present location; and be it further | 36 |
RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives | 37 |
transmit duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the | 38 |
Commanding General of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, | 39 |
other appropriate officials in the Corps, and the news media of | 40 |
Ohio. | 41 |