The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1881-11-17
Correspondence of the News.
THE MORAVIkN SETTLEMENT.
A VISIT TO THE TUSCARAWAS
VALLEY.
A DARK PAGE IN OHIO'S EAR
LY HISTORY.
MASSACRE OF THE MORAVIAN
INDIANS BY THE WHITES.
GNADENHUTTEN, Tuscarawss Co., !


Ohio. Nov. 2, 1881. {
ED. News: :-GnRdenhiitts is a
Noravian town of about $50 inhabi-
tants. The meaning of the name is
said to be, "Tsnts of Grace" which
was probably meant to be expressive
Of the aboHnding of Gods grace
in the conversion of the Indians of
the village, to which the name origi-
nally applied. The name has been
transferred to the present Moravian
village, and may ftly express not on
Iy the grace of God, but the beauty
and loveliness of this beautiful val
ley, and the grandeur and dignity Of
the hills which surround it.
I left Akron on the 9th of last
month, for a trip into the Tusearawas
Valley, and having traversed it from
Canal Dover to New Comerstown, I
am prepared to say that it surpaSses
in beauty and loveliness at this sea-
son Of the yesr, anything I have seen
for long time. spent Sunday in
New Philadelphia, town of 1000
inhabitants, the county seat of Tusca-
rawas county, in the home Of John
P. Chaplin, a distant relative of the
late DR.. Chaplin, and lectursd to a
fair-sized audience on temperance,
the people seeming to greatly appre-
ciate my ideas upon the great theme.
There has been but little done in
that region for the cause, and the
meetings, I am told, are usually slim
ly attended. Only SsUsn Prohibition
votes were cast in the township. But
for all this, and in the face of the
fact that there is a large German
element in the place, I find there is
a strong under-Ourrent for temper
anoe.
Leaving New Philadelphia, I visit
ed New Comerstown, stopping with
Judge Burt, an ex-State Senator,
and who claims that mis- residence is
situated on or near the spot whore
Moravian preached the first sermon
within the limits of what is now Ohio. |
This latter town is old and dilapidn-
ted, and has a ragged and disjointed
appearance, as though the spirit of !
progress had long since departed, |
but as I proceed up the river on my |
return, I enjoy the picturesque seen
cry of the valley, the hills on either
side, oarpeted in green, and the !
woods rejoicing in all the loveliness Of
their autumnal robes of gorgeous
colors. The varied landscape, the |
serene atmosphere and health in
spring breezss, that begin to be-
token frost, form delightful con-
trast to the heat and dust Of the
past summer.
On the 1st inst. I stopped with the |
family of a Mrs. Louisa, E. Forbes, !
who owns farm of 1900 acres, a |
large part of it in this valley, which !
she manages with ability, and to-day |
her son, James, brought me, behind |
a span Of spanking bays, to the
place where I now write, in the |
pleasant and hospitable home of a |
Mr. Gross, who owns seven hundred |
acres of as fine land as there is in |
Ohio. On the way thither we stop
ped to gather 'lsaves of the forests,
of which we secured some of the |
most beautiful that ever adorned |
Goods First Temples" or gratifed |
the eyes of lovers of Nature. Hill
and dale at this time are lovely be- !
yond description, and the woods are
clothed in magnificent array, pre-
ssnting some of the most beautiful
tints and brilliant colors, that excel
all efforts of the artists pencil.
We visited the site of the ancient
Indian village, Gnadenhiitten, a !
beautiful inclosure, now used as o |
burying ground, and by consulting
'The Life and Times of Zsisberger," ,"
I find that the first white settlement
was made here in 1772, and Zeisber-
ger converted a large number of In
dians TO his faith. The monument
erected over their remains tells the
sad story; Erected to the memory