Gnadenhutten, Ohio
| Gnadenhutten, Ohio | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
Monument at the massacre site
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|
 Location of Gnadenhutten, Ohio |
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 Location of Gnadenhutten in Tuscarawas County |
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| Coordinates: 40°21′39″N 81°25′54″W / 40.36083°N 81.43167°WCoordinates: 40°21′39″N 81°25′54″W / 40.36083°N 81.43167°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Ohio |
| County | Tuscarawas |
| Townships | Clay, Warwick, & Rush |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | David Zimmerman |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.97 sq mi (2.51 km2) |
| • Land | 0.97 sq mi (2.51 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 837 ft (255 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,288 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 1,281 |
| • Density | 1,327.8/sq mi (512.7/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 44629 |
| Area code(s) | 740, 220 |
| FIPS code | 39-30702 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1064736 |
Gnadenhutten (zhi-NAY-dən-hut-tən) is a village located on the Tuscarawas River in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States and is Ohio's oldest existing settlement. The population was 1,288 at the 2010 census.
Gnadenhutten was founded in October 1772 as the second settlement of German Americans and Lenape Native Americans affiliated with the Moravian Church. Tribes of Christianized Lenni Lenape people had settled at Schoenbrunn nearby, founded months earlier by missionary David Zeisberger. On July 4, 1773, a baby boy was born to the Roth family, becoming the first white child known to be born in the Ohio territory. This community, originally led by the Christianized Mohican chieftain Joshua (who died August 1 of the following year), had grown to about 200 persons by 1775.
As pacifists, they remained neutral during the American Revolutionary War. However, occupying British forces and their Wyandot and Delaware allies feared that members of the Christian Gnadenhutten, Schoenbrunn, and Salem communities helped guide the revolutionaries. The Native Americans were evicted northward to "Captive Town" near the Sandusky River area. Stripped of valuables and without farmland that summer or adequate provisions the winter of 1780-81, many starved and died of disease.
While the British imprisoned Rev. Zeisberger at Fort Detroit, authorities allowed about 150 Lenape to return to their old town to gather the harvest and supplies stored there. However, Pennsylvania militia led by David Williamson, following the deaths of settlers by other tribes a few weeks earlier, came to the resettled town in March 1782, and tricked the Indians into giving up their weapons. Ninety-six innocent Lenape men, women, and children spent the night in song and prayer knowing they would be slaughtered the following morning. On March 8 the Pennsylvanians committed the Gnadenhutten massacre and burned the approximately 60-cabin town. Only two boys escaped; the incident led to distrust between Native Americans and the settlers, and reprisals against patriots in Native American custody.
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