Blog 4

I am not a huge history buff, but I find it very fascinating that the New Philadelphia Quakers and the Dover Tornadoes have one of the longest rivals in the state of Ohio for High school football. The Dover/ Phila game is a big event and it is extremely exciting. Every year the high school students get to dressed up, the week of the game.  Every day is a new theme.  Friday, the night of the game is “Red and Black” which are the colors of New Philadelphia Quakers. I went  to New Philadelphia High school and now my oldest daughter  in fourth grade in New Philadelphia City Schools, I  get to the chance to experience through a parent's eyes.

The rivalry isn’t angry,  it is playful but competitive.  My parents live five blocks from the park which is where the Woody Hayes Football Stadium is.  On game night,  you can hear the stomping of the bleachers and the screams of the fans.

I am not a sports person but I am grateful to come from such a fun environment of good sportsmanship. I am looking forward to the years to raise my daughters in New Phila schools and watch another generation of camaraderie and enthusiasm of a team.

The mascot for the New Philadelphia is the Quakers. They are called the “Fighting Quakers”, which is funny because Quakers don’t fight. There are pep rallies, bonfires, memorabilia. This  is a big deal and Dover does the same thing. However, I have only experience this from the New Philas side. The rivalry is over one hundred years and we have a close community. New Philadelphia is my hometown and I look forward to this game every year

Blog Post #4: The Native American History of Tuscarawas County

        I have always been told that I have Native American heritage. I never really knew what that meant until I took a class called History of Ohio last year. Native Americans have always loved the Ohio Valley and they called these lands home. Even Native American tribes that did not live in this area claimed this land and killed off neighboring tribes that also tried to claim it. I've always found this interesting and the fact that the land that I live on was once claimed by Native Americans and was their home fascinates me.

        In fact, there was a tribe that lived in Schoenbrunn in the 1770s-1780s, then moved to Gnadenhutten because they felt that Schoenbrunn was unsafe. This tribe was called the Delaware tribe.

        The Delaware Indians actually had adopted Christian customs from two Moravian missionaries. The two missionaries were David Zeisburger and John Heckewelder. These Indians were given the nickname "praying Indians". 

        These two missionaries loved the Delaware Indians and greatly respected them. They set up a small settlement and created a peaceful environment for them. They called Schoenbrunn "Beautiful Springs". 

        The amazing thing is, this settlement was the very first in Ohio! Right here in New Philadelphia! This settlement also included the first schoolhouse in Ohio and Ohio's first code of law. 

        This settlement included 60 houses, like an average New England settlement. David and John both wanted the Indians to be self-sufficient and create a peaceful environment for them. 

        This beautiful village became dangerous and they fled to Gnadenhutten to be safer, due to war (American Revolution). Gnadenhutten means in their Native Language "Huts of Grace". 

        As the war raged on, David Zeisburger and John Heckewelder were not trusted by the British and they arrested the two and kept the Delaware Indians in captivity. In February of 1782, the British had set them free and the Delaware Indians came back to Gnadenhutten to continue their lives in peace. 

        The Delaware Indians did not see the last of war, though. A man named David Williamson had hated Indians and wanted to pillage on Indian tribes with his hateful army of militia from Pennsylvania and Virginia. They went to Gnadenhutten in March of 1782, just a month after the Delaware were released from British captivity. 

        When Williamson arrived, he was struck with instant confusion because he was welcome with open arms and smiling faces from the Indians. Enraged at the hospitality, he arrested all of the Delaware Indians and they were to stand trial for treason. They held a mock trial and they declared the Indians were to be executed. 

        Throughout the rest of the night, the Indians had prayed and sung hymns and praised their God for the last time. 

        The next day, they were brutally murdered and scalped by the militiamen. Only 2 Delaware Indians escaped. There were no charges brought up on David Williamson and his militia army.

        In 1789, David Zeisburger and John Heckewelder came back to the settlement and buried the remains of the Indians in the last Indian mound created, made by White settlers. 

        Now you're probably wondering why this is so important to me. This is important to me because in the 1700s, Indians were considered savages and were hated widely by settlers. But, there were great examples of how Indians adopted Western customs and they were still preyed upon. This happened on the land were standing on and this gives this story so much more power. I feel that its vital to remember this and how the Ohio Valley was stolen, not shared. 

(Information from Dr. Todd Hartline, History of Ohio)

David Zeisburger, Moravian Missionary

John Heckewelder, Moravian Missionary

Blog Post 4

This Blog is about something I'll always love, my hometown, aka the village of Dennison. Dennison was developed because of the influence of both the coal and railroad industry taking off in the 1860's. The town was constructed because it is exactly 100 miles from Pittsburgh and Columbus, which is the maximum distance railroad cars could go before needing refilled. This also sparked the creation of the Dennison Coal Company.

In 1864, The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway company decided to put the country's largest railway shops and yards in Dennison. The land was purchased for the town in 1865, but the village was not incorporated until 1873. Thousands of people moved to the area for jobs working on the railroad. At its peak, over 3,000 people worked in the railroad industry in Dennison. (Which is more than the current population of the village).

During World War 1, the Red Cross set up and operated a canteen from a boxcar. Many people of the village volunteered to help prepare coffee and sandwiches for troops as they were passing through on the trains.

Although the railroad industry in Dennison was the largest in the country, it eventually came to an abrupt ending. In 1922, a railroad strike ended the Golden Era of Dennison. The passenger trains stopping in Dennison came to a halt, the last one being in 1968. The  last of the freight trains stopping in Dennison was in 1982. Trains still roll through Dennison, but don't stop anymore. The only trains to stop in Dennison are each December, as the Polar Express boards from the depot.

Ever since the railroad industry in Dennison, the population has steadily dropped. Ever since the 1950's, people have been leaving the area in search for better and new jobs. People leaving the community has always been something that has bothered me, but I also understand it. It has always been somewhat of a dream of mine to find a way to bring Dennison back to its former glory, and be even bigger than it was before.

Blog 4

The creation of Tuscarawas County was authorized on February 13, 1808. The county got its name from a Native American word meaning "open mouth". I think that name suits us "T-County" people very well sometimes. I can't remember too many times when it has been quiet here.

Something I found interesting is that some of the first people to reside in the county were Moravian missionaries. Maybe I did know this and it was just tucked into the back of my mind. I attend Schoenbrunn Community Moravian Church, and have for half of my life.  My family has gone to Schoenbrunn Moravian for generations.

My great-grandma used to be in the church choir. Later on, I also joined, but it only lasted a year or two because of my busy schedule. When handing out the sheet music we would practice with, the other members would offer me my great-grandma's music. It really meant a lot to see her name in her own handwriting.

We were all basically born into a second family there. Everyone watches you grow up as you watch them grow old. Kids I used to babysit from church are now almost as tall as me, not that I am very tall to begin with. I hope to keep the tradition up for my future children to do the same as I am.


Information found @ www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Tuscarawas_County

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I went to the historical society originally wanting to know more about School House Winery. The winery is located in one of the county's historical school buildings formerly known as district or building number 9. Unfortunately, the information stopped at the school level, not really explaining how it came to be the actual winery. I started looking through the different county books and found some information I thought was much more interesting than anything I may find over building number 9.

The interesting fact I found about the county actually is key to us writing these blogs together. In December of 1772 the construction on the first school building in Ohio began right in the settlement of Schoenbrunn. This was not only the first school in Ohio but also the beginning of an educational movement which would eventually start the education system that we still use today. 

In between 1772, when the school was first under construction, and 1914 schools were created in different towns within the county, later moving on to other counties. 
                  
During the early years there were 3 directors who decided how to run the schools. In 1850 state legislation decided the number needed to be increased to 6. All members were from the county and these 6 people became the first ever Board of Education.

Without the settlement of Schoenbrunn, the education system could have been much different through out the state. The members of the county worked hard to further the education system, even donating funds to build new buildings and buy supplies, when funding was not available from the government. 

Overall I found that the historical society is a neat place to find out more about the community we live in. The people working there were friendly and very helpful. I hope that the historical society can remain functional and maybe even one day get to a point to where they can have more hours of operation. 

Blog #4 The New Phila Fire Station

The NP Fire Station

The city of New Philadelphia Ohio’s Fire Department is currently putting the final touches on their new fire station. It is located on Front St. before entering into the south side.

The original fire station was built in 1929. Back in the day they obviously did not have firetrucks and instead, had horse drawn carriages that they used as a form of transportation for firefighters and the hoses needed to plug into the fire hydrogens.

With the old fire station they had a basement. The basement was fine in the 1900’s when all the station held was firemen, horses, and carts. But now, as the country has industrialized and has bettered the safety of the human race the basement has become an issue.

Firetruck engines came into being around the 1960’s. Of course the New Philadelphia fire department upgraded from their horse drawn carriages to the these 10,000-16,000 pound vehicles (depending on whether or not they contain firemen and their 4,000 lbs of water).

On the first level the weight of all those trucks is slowly destroying the base of the fire station and in time the building together will collapse killing everyone inside the building.

Seems like a good idea to make a brand new one without a basement right??

Even though the Women’s Rights Movement ended in the 1920’s there weren’t many female firefighters. The first one was in New York but, Phila is a lot smaller than the City that Never Sleeps. So, the old firestation does not have the right accommodations for a women firefighter and now, in the 2000’s women can become anything and everything they want which includes becoming a firefighter.

        With this new station New Philadelphia will be able to successfully accommodate female firefighters. They hope to be the first one in the area to have a set of female fighters. (They just low key want to beat Dover.)

         For me, this was extremely interesting. My family is friends with the current Fire chief and his family. Watching him light up when I asked about what to write for this blog post to tell me all about his pride and joy of the station was amazing.

But, most of all I find this interesting because it reminded me of an upgrade. The old building no longer fit the needs of the people and needed to be redone. It was an awesome way for me to see how society has changed along with our needs and how much more efficient we have become with transportation.

Below is a link that you can look at the outside of the old firehouse, and the picture is of the new station that is almost finished being built.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x8836e34f47f0349d%3A0x93cd42bf8e07b898

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Blog Post 4

I wasn't able to visit the place, but I went online and I found some interesting facts about the history of New Philadelphia.

                New Philadelphia was founded by a man named John Knisely. Knisely, born on September 21, 1752, became the successful owner of a grist mill in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 1795. In the fall of 1803, he went to Ohio with his son, Samuel, to go on a hunting trip. The two followed an Indian trail to the village of Schoenbrunn, where the two ended up staying for a few days. They found lots of deer there, and Knisely befriended the founder of Schoenbrunn, David Zeisberger. Noticing lovely looking valleys in the distance, Knisely thought they would be a great place to form a town, and hopefully, in the future, a city would be there. He went back home, made $16,000 by selling possessions of his, and he moved with his family to eastern Ohio.

He went to Gnadenhutten. In Gnadenhutten, Knisely met John Heckewelder, who was a land agent. Heckewelder sold Knisely 3,554 acres of land for $5,454.33. This large area of land is where most of New Philadelphia lies today. Knisely devoted a lot of time to making this new-found town as successful as it could be, since he hoped one day it would become a city. The layout of the town, provided by a man named John Wells, looked very similar to the city of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. Many of the street names were also named after streets in Philadelphia. The town was projected to have three public squares. They were a present public square, an upper market square, and a lower market square. These still exist today.

Eventually, a group of settlers arrived in the area. The group stayed at Knisely’s house for their first night, and the next day, Knisely showed them the town. The only problem was that there was no town; just a bunch of trees and surroundings of nature. Knisely showed them places where buildings were going to built at. Eventually, the town was built and Knisely’s contributions and devotion to New Philadelphia earned it the position of the newly created Tuscarawas County’s County Seat in 1807. Over the years, the town grew in size, reaching a population of over one thousand people in 1846. This big incline of people was largely because of being a popular site for trading, thanks to the town being located on the Ohio and Erie Canal. By 1870, over three thousand people lived in New Philadelphia. As of today, New Philadelphia has an estimated population of 17,551 people, and it is the largest city in Tuscarawas County.

On December 15, 1834, Knisely, who was 84 years old, died. His tombstone, located in the East Fair Street Cemetery, honors him as the founder of New Philadelphia. I find it interesting to learn about how cities and towns come to be what they are, and New Philadelphia is no exception. I honor Knisely for putting a lot of work and effort into creating a place that I have many fond memories of, even if I don’t actually live there.

               

Blog Post Four

Being that I am not from Tuscarawas County I had no prior knowledge of the history of this county. My visit to the historical society was very interesting. The thing that I found that I would consider the most interesting or coolest was the fact that someone wrote a book entirely about the Dover Phila rivalry game. Personally I have never been to the "big" game, but I have heard that it is a pretty big deal. What I did not realize was that it was such a big deal that someone would write an entire book about it. This is what I love about small town life. Something as insignificant as a football game is essentially life or death to us. Another thing that I found to be very interesting was how much of Tuscarawas County used to be inhabited by Indians. I suppose now that I look back it makes sense being that most of the schools' mascots have something to do with Indians, I had just never made that connection before.  Harrison County, which is where I am from, does not have as much as a historical connection to Indians which I find fascinating since we are neighboring counties. The last interesting thing that I found was that there was a massacre in Port Washington. This town to me comes across as just a small peaceful town, so to think that something that horrific would happen there is mind blowing. My visit at the historical society was very nice, and had I had relatives from this county I would've loved to sit and read more, and try and find out more about my own family's history.

Blog Post #4

        Although I wasn't able to actually visit the Tuscarawas Historical Society, I still went online and found a few things pretty interesting. 

       In the small town that I live in, it's pretty rare that we celebrate anything or really have anything fun going on. Pretty much the only thing to look forward to is the Brewster Firemen's Festival in the beginning of June. I will say I used to have fun at it, but it's really gone down hill and there's not all that much to do. It's the same rides every year, the same boring games, and the same boring music. The food is definitely always good though. When I saw that Tuscarawas County has/had several celebrations and things to do it made me sad because I have always wished my town would do something like that. 

     In Uhrichsville they have what is called the Clayworker's Festival. I found it super interesting that they do this to celebrate when it used to be the Clay Capitol of the world because I didn't know this. It's all about clay where they have scavenger hunts, clay demonstrations, a tour through the clay museum, and even a kayak race. This is for sure something that I would want to go to.

     I also read that in New Philadelphia they used to have an Italian Festival. I have heard of it, but I never really knew what it was and what went on at one. I read that it is all about Italian-American food, drinks, games, rides, and various entertainment. These festivals started in 1989, but they just recently stopped due to not having as many people attending. 

     The Swiss Festival in Tusc County is an event I've always wanted to go to, but never have. It just sounds like people have tons of fun there and many people in my family have gone and suggested that I go. This festival is located in Sugarcreek and this year will be the 65th year of it. There's a parade, marching band entertainment, a swiss cheese making and eating contest, all while learning about the Swiss culture. Sounds like a fun time to me. 

There are so many more different festivals and activities in Tuscarawas County, but like I said, I wish my town or even towns around me did even half the things Tusc County does. I never really knew anything about this county until I began going to school here and it's nice to finally figure some things out about it. It's definitely a nice place to be.

Blog Post #4

Interesting Facts about Ohio

I have lived in Ohio my entire life. Considering this, I am slightly ashamed to admit how little history I actually knew about our state before visiting the Tuscarawas Historical Society. Sure, I knew that Ohio’s weather is known for being bipolar and that Michigan fans are sworn enemies, but there are so many other interesting facts to be discovered.

One of the first fascinating things I discovered was about the Ohio state flag. The flag was created in 1902, and in 2002, it was given a pledge:

“I salute the flag of the state of Ohio and pledge to the Buckeye State respect and loyalty.”

I had no idea Ohio’s nickname of being the Buckeye State went as far back as it’s flag’s creation. The creator of the flag even went as far as to say that the circle in the center not only stands for the “O” in Ohio, but it is also symbolism for its place as the Buckeye State.

It is crazy to me to think that something as casually thrown around as being from the “Buckeye State” was actually determined more than a century ago. I guess this just goes to prove that one never really knows what effect they will have on history.

                                                        

The Ohio State Flag

Another fact I found thought-provoking about Ohio’s history has to do with the presidents who were born here. Ohio is home to eight of the presidents including Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, and William H. Taft.

The majority of these presidents were elected nearly in consecutive order! Ohio was home to the 18^th, 19^th, 20^th, 23^rd, 25^th, 27^th, and 29^th presidents. Even more intriguing is that all of these presidents ran as Republicans (except for the 9^th president, William Henry Harrison, who identified with the Whig party of his time).

It is definitely interesting to be alive during today’s political era, but I can imagine the rumors of scandal that existed during these presidencies. Just imagine your politically crazed uncle visiting your Ohio family: “So, who did you Ohioans bribe this year to get one of your buddies in the door yet again?”

On the other hand, I bet it was a great time to be an Ohio child. Whenever some adult commented, as they often do, “There’s this nation’s next president” in reference to a kid, I bet the child gleamed with pride. After all, this had already happened to several people from his or her very own state. The odds were seemingly in their favor.

However, presidents are not the only famous citizens who have come from Ohio. You have James Ritty to thank for cash registers and Garret Morgan to thank for traffic lights. Both of whom were native to Ohio.

But let us not forget the Wright brothers who gave us our first steps in flight, and W.F. Semple who gave us the gum to pop our ears while we fly. Without a doubt, these are just a few of the inspiring people who came from the state of Ohio.

I may have not known much about our great state when I began this search, and I still do not know nearly close to everything, but I have realized something. Just like people, each state has a history of its own, and each history contributes in making our worlds the way they are today.

Reference information for Ohio book within the Historical Society: Blackwell, J. Kenneth. Ohio defined. (180 E. Broad St., 15th Floor, Columbus): Office of the Ohio Secretary of State, 2006. Print.