Zoar Cemetery

Zoar Cemetery is in Zoar, Ohio (Tuscarawas County).  The entrance has been at the west end of 7^th Street since 1925.  The original entrance was from the old road along the lake.

From the Ohio Historical Marker, "Here, in what has been described as 'God's Acre,' is the final resting place of members of the Society of Separatist 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. ..."

The cemetery extends west beyond the modern loop road on a bluff over Zoar Lake.  As of 2010, the cemetery appears to have these sections (see links to Google Maps, below):

• The Central Section is west of the loop, opposite the 7^th Street entrance.  It is roughly rectangular with east-west rows.  The rows appear more clearly defined toward the northern part of this section.  The rows are irregular in the southern part, from some of the earlier family plots.  Burials from late 19^th Century to early 20^th Century are likely to be found here.
• The East Section is inside the loop of the road, with east-west rows.  Burials from the middle of the 20^th Century and later are likely to be found here.
• The North Section is west of the loop, north of the central section.  It is rectangular with north-south rows.  Burials from the beginning to the middle of the 20^th Century are likely to be found here.
• The South Section is west of the loop, south of the central section.  It is roughly triangular with unmarked graves so its layout is unclear.  Graves from the earliest years are likely to have been here, buried by date of death instead of family plot.
  
• The West Section is west of the Central and South sections.  It is odd shaped, running along the southwest border of the cemetery.  This section has eroded down the bank toward the lake.  The portion west of the South Section had north-south rows with burials by date of death instead of family plot.  The section west of the Central Section probably had early family plots.  Burials from middle years of the 19^th Century were likely to have been here.
  

The original cemetery gate from the old road along the lake stood at the southern tip of the oldest section, southwest of the modern loop road and west of the modern hiking trail that heads southeastward.  From this gate off the old lake road, the original road into the cemetery was a dead-end.  During the middle years of the 20^th Century, before the road was extended to a loop, the beginning of this dead-end was instead connected to the extension of 7^th Street and the dead-end had a car turnaround near the highest ground in the cemetery.

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Buried together as BREIL:

Buried as HARR on northern edge of this section, near the middle of the row:

Buried together as HOYH:

Buried close to each other as NOTTER with a pair of matching tombstones, second row in from the northern edge of this section, near eastern end of the row:

Buried somewhat close to each other as RICKER with a pair of "Father" and "Mother" tombstones, both inscribed "At Rest," near the eastern edge of this section:
Buried as REIKER and RIEKER on the eastern edge of this section, near the highest ground in the cemetery: