For years, European-American colonists on the East Coast did not know much about the territory west of the Appalachian Mountains except for reports from a few explorers and fur traders who ventured into the area. In 1750, Christopher Gist of the Ohio Land Company explored the Tuscarawas Valley. His report of the area hinted at some natural riches and friendly American Indians.
Again, at the request of Chief Netawatwees in 1771, David Zeisberger returned to found additional missions in the Tuscarawas Valley. In the spring of 1772, near the present site of New Philadelphia, Ohio, Zeisberger, along with five converted Indian families established the mission of Schoenbrunn (beautiful spring), also known as Welhik Tuppeek (best spring). They built a school house and a chapel. In August of that year, John Heckawelder brought an additional 250 converted Christian Delawares into the village.
In late summer 1772, they established a second settlement, roughly 10 miles away from Schoenbrunn, called Gnadenhütten (cabins of grace). On October 17, 1772, Zeisberger conducted the first religious service at Gnadenhutten. In 1776, Chief Netawatwes donated land for another settlement, Lichtenau (meadow of light), near present-day Coshocton, then the principal Delaware village in the region.[6]
The American Revolutionary War brought the demise of these first settlements. The Delawares, who at the time populated much of eastern Ohio, were divided over their loyalties, with many in the west allied with the British out of Fort Detroit and many in the east allied with the Americans out of Fort Pitt. Delawares were involved in skirmishes against both sides, but by 1781 the American sense was that the Delawares were allying with the British. In response, Colonel Daniel Brodhead of the American forces led an expedition out of Fort Pitt and on 19 April 1781 destroyed the settlement of Coshocton. Surviving residents fled to the north. Colonel Brodhead's forces left the Delawares at the other Moravian mission villages unmolested, but the actions set the stage for raised tensions in the area.
In September 1781, British forces and Indian allies, primarily Wyandot and Delaware, forced the Christian Indians and missionaries from the remaining Moravian villages. The Indian allies took their prisoners further west toward Lake Erie to a new village, called Captive Town, on the Sandusky River. The British took the missionaries David Zeisberger and John Heckewelder under guard back to Fort Detroit, where the two men were tried (but eventually acquitted) on charges of treason against the British Crown.
The Indians at Captive Town were going hungry because of insufficient rations, and in February 1782, more than 100 returned to their old Moravian villages to harvest the crops and collect the stored food they had been forced to leave behind. In early March 1782, 160 Pennsylvania militia led by Lieutenant Colonel David Williamson raided the villages and garrisoned the Indians in the village of Gnadenhütten, accusing them of taking part in raids into Pennsylvania. Although the Delawares rejected the charges as they were pacifist Christians, the militia held a council and voted to kill them. The next morning on 8 March, the militia tied up the Indians, stunned them with mallet blows to the head, and killed them with fatal scalping cuts. In all, the militia murdered and scalped 28 men, 29 women, and 39 children. They piled the bodies of the Moravian Christian Lenape and Moravian Christian Mahicans in the mission buildings and burned the village down. They also burned the other abandoned Moravian villages in the area.[8]
This action, which came to be known as the Gnadenhutten massacre, caused an outright frontier war to break out between the Delawares and the Americans. After several years of ongoing campaigns by the natives to terrorize and keep out further American settlers, a brutal campaign by US General "Mad Anthony" Wayne from Fort Washington (now Cincinnati) was carried out in late 1793, eventually resulting in the Treaty of Greenville being signed in 1795 between the US government and the local natives. The Treaty ceded the eastern ⅔ of current-day Ohio to white settlers and once again opened up the territory for white settlement.
In October, 1798, David Zeisberger, the same Moravian missionary who had founded many of the original missions in the 1770s, returned to the Tuscarawas Valley to found a new mission, Goshen, from where he continued his work to evangelize the local natives with the Christian gospel. Over the next several years, farmer settlers from Pennsylvania came trickling into the area, and by 1808, the first permanent settlement, New Philadelphia, was founded near the Goshen mission. After the War of 1812, Goshen declined as a mission until it was disbanded in 1824.[9]
Tuscarawas County was formed from Muskingum County on Feb. 15, 1808.[10]
Ohio and Erie Canal seen in Tuscarawas County from "Geography of Ohio," 1923
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 571 square miles (1,480km2), of which 568 square miles (1,470km2) is land and 3.8 square miles (9.8km2) (0.71%) is water.[16]
Age pyramid of Tuscarawas County, based on 2000 census information.
2000 census
As of the census[22] of 2000, there were 90,914 people, 35,653 households, and 25,313 families residing in the county. The population density was 160 people per square mile (62/km2). There were 38,113 housing units at an average density of 67 per squaremile (26/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.87% White, 0.73% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.71% of the population. 95.3% spoke English, 1.3% German and 1.1% Spanish as their first language.
There were 35,653 households, out of which 32.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couples living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the county, the age distribution of the population shows 25.40% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,489, and the median income for a family was $41,677. Males had a median income of $31,963 versus $20,549 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,276. About 7.20% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.20% of those under age 18 and 7.80% of those age 65 or over.
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 92,582people, 36,965households, and 25,318families residing in the county.[23] The population density was 163.1 inhabitants per square mile (63.0/km2). There were 40,206 housing units at an average density of 70.8 per square mile (27.3/km2).[24] The racial makeup of the county was 96.6% white, 0.8% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.2% Pacific islander, 0.7% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% of the population.[23] In terms of ancestry, 38.0% were German, 16.0% were Irish, 10.9% were English, 7.7% were American, and 7.6% were Italian.[25] 94.7% spoke English, 1.4% Spanish, 1.1% German, and 2.0% another West Germanic language.[26]
Of the 36,965households, 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.5% were non-families, and 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 40.9 years.[23]
The median income for a household in the county was $42,081 and the median income for a family was $51,330. Males had a median income of $40,490 versus $27,193 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,536. About 9.2% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.[27]
Politics
Prior to 1912, Tuscarawas County was a Democratic Party stronghold in presidential elections. But starting with the 1912 election, the county has become a bellwether county, only backing losing candidates in 1960, 1968, 2012 and 2020.
United States presidential election results for Tuscarawas County, Ohio[28]
Muskingum County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,410. Its county seat is Zanesville. Nearly bisected by the Muskingum River, the county name is based on a Delaware American Indian word translated as "town by the river" or "elk's eye".
Coshocton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,612. Its county seat and largest city is Coshocton. The county lies within the Appalachian region of the state. The county was formed on January 31, 1810, from portions of Muskingum and Tuscarawas Counties and later organized in 1811. Its name comes from the Delaware Indian language and has been translated as "union of waters" or "black bear crossing". The Coshocton, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Coshocton County.
Coshocton is a city in and the county seat of Coshocton County, Ohio, United States approximately 63 mi (102 km) ENE of Columbus. The population was 11,050 at the 2020 census. The Walhonding River and the Tuscarawas River meet in Coshocton to form the Muskingum River.
Bolivar is a village in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 994 at the 2010 census. Bolivar is also home to Fort Laurens, the only American Revolutionary War-era fort in what is now Ohio.
Dover is a city in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States, along the Tuscarawas River. The population was 13,112 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the New Philadelphia–Dover micropolitan area, approximately 68 miles (109 km) south of Cleveland.
Gnadenhutten is a village located on the Tuscarawas River in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,240 at the 2020 census. It is Ohio's oldest existing settlement, being founded by Moravian Christians in 1772 and was the site of the Gnadenhutten massacre during the American Revolutionary War. It is part of the New Philadelphia–Dover micropolitan area.
New Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The county's largest city, New Philadelphia lies along the Tuscarawas River. The population was 17,677 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city in the New Philadelphia–Dover micropolitan area, approximately 71 miles (114 km) south of Cleveland.
Newcomerstown is a village in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States, 85 miles (137 km) east-northeast of Columbus. In the late 1770s, this was the largest Delaware Indian village on the Tuscarawas River, with 700 residents. Chief Newcomer (Netawatwes) was the leader of the western Delawares here, and they called the village Gekelmukpechunk. Early French traders and English settlers named the village Newcomerstown after the chief. Soon after the start of the American Revolutionary War, the Delawares moved west to Coshocton, about halfway through what is now the next county.
Tuscarawas, originally Trenton, is a village in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,056 at the 2010 census.
Lehighton is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Lehighton is located 28.9 miles (46.5 km) northwest of Allentown and 77.5 miles (124.7 km) northwest of Philadelphia.
Moravian 47 is an Indian reserve located in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, with an area of 13 square kilometres (5.0 sq mi). It is occupied by the Delaware Nation at Moraviantown First Nation, a part of the Christian Munsee branch of the Lenape, and is commonly known as Moravian of the Thames reserve. The resident registered population is 457, with another 587 band members living off the reserve.
The Gnadenhutten massacre, also known as the Moravian massacre, was the killing of 96 pacifist Moravian Christian Indians by U.S. militiamen from Pennsylvania, under the command of David Williamson, on March 8, 1782 at the Moravian missionary village of Gnadenhutten, Ohio Country, during the American Revolutionary War.
The Tuscarawas River is a principal tributary of the Muskingum River, 129.9 miles (209 km) long, in northeastern Ohio in the United States. Via the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 2,590 square miles (6,700 km2) on glaciated and unglaciated portions of the Allegheny Plateau.
Gelelemend (1737–1811) (Lenape), also known as Killbuck or John Killbuck Jr., was an important Delaware (Lenape) chief during the American Revolutionary War. He supported the rebel Americans, known as Patriots. His name signifies "a leader." He was born into the Turtle clan, which had hereditary responsibility for leadership, he became principal chief of the Lenape in November 1778, following the death of White Eyes, a war chief and Speaker of the Delaware Head Council. Gelelemend succeeded his maternal grandfather Netawatwees.
David Zeisberger was a Moravian clergyman and missionary among the Native American tribes who resided in the Thirteen Colonies. He established communities of Munsee (Lenape) converts to Christianity in the valley of the Muskingum River in Ohio; and for a time, near modern-day Amherstburg, Ontario.
The Christian Munsee are a group of Lenape, an Indigenous people in the United States, that primarily speak Munsee and have converted to Christianity, following the teachings of Moravian missionaries. The Christian Munsee are also known as the Moravian Munsee or the Moravian Indians, the Moravian Christian Indians or, in context, simply the Christian Indians. As the Moravian Church transferred some of their missions to other Christian denominations, such as the Methodists, Christian Munsee today belong to the Moravian Church, Methodist Church, United Church of Canada, among other Christian denominations.
David Williamson (1752–1814) was a colonel in the Pennsylvania Militia during the American Revolutionary War. He was born near Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and led American militiamen in the Gnadenhutten massacre of the Moravian Christian Indian Martyrs, though he failed in his plan to massacre the Christian Indians in Schoenbrunn. He led Pennsylvanian soldiers in the massacre of peaceful Delaware Indians in Killbuck Island and was second in command in the Crawford expedition. David Williamson allowed his men to rape women and children in the cold snow while simultaneously killing them.
John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder was an American missionary for the Moravian Church.
State Route 259 is a 4.41-mile (7.10 km) long state highway in central Tuscarawas County, Ohio. The route runs from its eastern terminus at SR 416 in Goshen Township to its western terminus at SR 39 in New Philadelphia.
Moravian Indian Grants were three tracts of land in Tuscarawas County, Ohio granted by the federal government in the eighteenth century to a group of Christian Indians. In the nineteenth century, these natives moved west, and the government sold the land to white people.
↑ Guide to Tuscarawas County, Federal Writers Project of Ohio Work Projects Administration, F.C. Harrington, Florence Kerr, Carl Watson, 1939
↑ Stewart, G.T.; Gallup, C.H. (1899). The Firelands Pioneer. Firelands Historical Society. p.246. In the village cemetery, where lie the dead of a century, stands a huge granite monument. This graceful shaft marks the resting place of ninety Christian Indian martyrs whose ruthless butchery furnishes one of the darkest pages in American history.
J.W. Cummins and Earl E. Sanderson, The Water Resources of Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Columbus, OH: Ohio Water Resources Board, 1947.
C. Edward DeGraw, The Only Game in Town: A History of Baseball in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, 1867-1955. Tuscarawas County Historical Society, c. 1998.
Federal Writers Project, Guide to Tuscarawas County. New Philadelphia, OH: Tucker Printing Co., 1939.
Henry Howe, History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, 1808-1889. Knightstown, IN: Bookmark, 1977.
Herbert P Lohrman and Ralph H Romig, Valley of the Tuscarawas: A History of Tuscarawas County. Dover, OH: Ohio Hills Publishers, 1972.
J.B. Mansfield, The History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio: Containing a History of the County; Its Townships, Towns, Churches, Schools, etc.; General and Local Statistics; Military Record; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; History of the Northwest Territory; History of Ohio; Miscellaneous Matters, etc., etc. Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1884.
Fred Miller, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2000.
Lloyd E. Mizer, History of the Schools in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. n.c.: Ohio Retired Teachers Association. Tuscarawas County Chapter, 1993.
Ohio Retired Teachers Association, Tuscarawas County Chapter, History of Early Tuscarawas County Schools. New Philadelphia, OH: Printing Dept., Buckeye Joint Vocational School, 1978.
Earl P. Olmstead, A Documentary History of the Ohio & Erie Canal, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. New Philadelphia, OH: Tuscarawas County Historical Society and the Tusc-Kent Archives, Kent State University, 1996.
Edwin S. Rhodes, The Centennial History and Atlas of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, 1908. New Philadelphia, OH: Tuscarawas Centennial Association, 1908.
Julius Miller Richardson, A Brief History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio. n.c.: n.p., n.d. [1990s].
Tuscarawas County Genealogical Society, Tuscarawas County, Ohio Cemeteries. New Philadelphia, OH: Tuscarawas County Genealogical Society, 1981.
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