Zoar Cemetery / Zoar Cemetery

Side A: Here, in what has been described as “God’s Acre,” is the final resting place of members of the Society of Separatists of Zoar (1817-1898) as well as today’s descendants and residents. The early Zoarites’ simple religion forbade headstones, believing all were equal in death. These early burials, including fifty who perished in an 1834 cholera epidemic, are to your left. The headstone of Zoar leader Joseph Bimeler was erected later. (continued on other side) Side B: (continued from other side) In the 1860s, the Separatists began using wooden markers, now deteriorated, and eventually limestone and marble memorials. The early graves were laid in chronological order, not in family plots. Three additions in 1900, 1925, and 1996 have enlarged the cemetery. The road, which formerly followed the shore of nearby Zoar Lake, was changed to its present location in 1925.