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Historic Schoenbrunn Village open house turns back the calendar

By Jennifer R. Demuth

Though the beautiful spring, for which Schoenbrunn was named, was rumored to have run dry, a geologist recently confirmed that the spring is still there. And if the more than 900 people who attended the public open house at Historic Schoenbrunn Village on July 30 proved anything, they proved that support for the place where Ohio history began has also not run dry.
   
"It's a wonderful turnout, and it's so special to see the village re-energized," shared Marilyn Stocker of Gnadenhutten, one of the open house volunteers and a member of the Schoenbrunn Village advisory committee.
   
Thanks to the hard work of volunteers like Stocker and the staff from the Dennison Railroad Depot Museum (who recently took over management of Schoenbrunn Village from the Ohio Historical Society), open house visitors were transported
back to 1772. The sights and sounds of Ohio's first village were evident, from the colonial music being played to the dozens of volunteers who donned period costumes as they walked the grounds or cooked venison stew over an open fire.
  
Among the costumed guests were county commissioners Chris Abbuhl and Jim Seldenright, who rode to the event on horseback, while fellow commissioner Kerry Metzger, Tuscarawas Valley Heritage Inc. president Tracy Stevens, and the Rev. and Mrs. David Zeisberger (as portrayed by Trumpet in the Land cast members) walked alongside them to an opening presentation.
   
"Schoenbrunn Village is once again a priority for Tuscarawas County," announced commissioner Seldenright at the presentation.
   
Tuscarawas Valley Heritage Inc. was the premier sponsor of the open house, and organization president Stevens thanked visitors for attending the event and encouraged them to volunteer and keep coming back.
   
The Dennison Railroad Depot Museum director, Wendy Zucal, thanked the dedicated volunteers who contributed a total of 7,000 hours across 17 days to rehabilitate Schoenbrunn Village for the open house. She also issued a call to action to the community to help with the effort by volunteering their time or donating money.
   
After the presentation, Dee Grossman-Tasker, executive director of the Tuscarawas County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said, "The revitalization of Schoenbrunn generally, and the Dennison Depot Board and staff taking control of the operations specifically, fulfills a smart, visionary role in community development. Any time you can offer more to visitors, it has to impact the economy of the community… just being open one more day a week has the potential to add 20 percent to our bottom line."
   
During the open house, seven of the 17 cabins were adopted as part of the Adopt a Cabin initiative, which encourages community members and businesses to adopt a cabin for a donation of between $500 and $5,000. The money will fund building repairs. Thirty-one new volunteers were also recruited at the event.
   
"Our top priority (for hosting the open house) was to reacquaint local folks with Schoenbrunn and to make sure they knew that Schoenbrunn Village is no longer a state-operated site but a community-operated site, and that it will become what the community wants it to become," shared Zucal. "Secondly, we also hoped to recruit volunteers, have folks adopt cabins, and get interest and involvement from the community."
   
While a lot of work has been done to improve the historic village, Zucal noted that many tasks remain, such as building repairs, groundswork, fence repairs, clearing the muck at the spring house, getting the pavilions back in use, and more. To volunteer in any capacity, from groundskeeping to conducting tours, or to make a donation, contact Zucal at 740-922-6776.
   
In the future, Zucal hopes to extend the village's hours to accommodate more visitors. "We want to strongly encourage the public to consider Schoenbrunn for their reunions, weddings, picnics, church events and camps," she said. "We want the village used as much as possible."
   
For those who didn't attend the Schoenbrunn Village open house, visitors can still see the village during its regular hours, Wednesday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, up until Labor Day. Admission is $7 for adults, $3 for children, and no charge for children five and under. On Saturday, August 16, from 7 to 10 p.m., families can enjoy Native American and colonial games, corn grinding, hot rock cooking, and quill writing at a Schoenbrunn After Hours event. Additionally, the village will be open this fall for special lantern tours to be conducted by candlelight, from 6 to 9 p.m., on Sept. 20 and Oct. 18.