Sugarcreek History

THE "LITTLE SWITZERLAND OF OHIO" 

Back in 1814, when Abraham Shane founded the village of Shanesville, at a point where two Indian trails crossed, he little dreamed that some day this would be the point where Ohio Scenic Routes 39 and 93 would intersect. Nor did he think that the upstart village of Sugarcreek, which didn't exist until fifty years later, would some day swallow up his town. Shanesville had wool mills, foundries, tanneries and thriving business places in the 1880's, but it had no railroad. So, when the railroad was built in the Sugarcreek Valley one mile to the east, houses and business places began to spring up there. The community was first known as East Shanesville, later being incorporated as Sugarcreek, and by the early 1900's it had outstripped its parent village.

If Abraham Shane were alive today he might feel some disappointment that the village no longer bears his name, because it became part of Sugarcreek through a merger in 1968. However, he might also take some pride in the fact that it has become part of one of the most widely known small towns in the USA.

Contributing to Sugarcreek's wide spread fame is the town's newspaper, The Budget, which each week is mailed to nearly 1,500 towns throughout North American and many foreign countries, carrying the news of the Amish and Mennonites to their far flung settlements. Also, the high grade face brick produced in the Sugarcreek factories are nationally known in the building trades and many of the finest homes and business places in Eastern United States are built with Sugarcreek brick. Manufacturers from many parts of the United States and foreign countries visit our ultra modern brick factories to observe the facilities here.

Sugarcreek's greatest claim to fame, however, is that it is the center of the Swiss Cheese industry in Ohio and the site of the annual Ohio Swiss Festival. THE SWISS CHEESE INDUSTRY With fifteen factories producing over ten million pounds of Swiss Cheese annually, the Sugarcreek area is second only to Wisconsin in the manufacture of this delectable product. Swiss Cheese (or Emmenthaler, as it is known in Switzerland), is a hard cheese made by coagulating milk protein with rennet and ripening it by infused bacterial action. The characteristic eyes (holes) in the cheese are formed by carbonic gas during the curing process. A large cheese, it formerly was always made in shape called a "wheel" with a heavy rind produced by floating it in a brine tank several days. A substantial portion of the cheese is now made in rindless block form, encased in plastic, for the convenience of the retailers. A wheel of cheese weighs about 200 pounds and the blocks weigh about 90 pounds. Its fine, nut like flavor and its stately size have earned it the title of the King of Cheese. Swiss cheese making is an art. Modern equipment and technology have helped the cheese maker turn out a uniformly superior product but a certain natural talent is equally necessary. The Swiss cheese makers of the Sugarcreek area have combined this natural talent with years of experience to produce the finest Swiss Cheese available anywhere.

THE AMISH PEOPLE Many of the Sugarcreek business places are Amish-oriented, such as the blacksmith shop where the Amish have their horses shod, an amish quilt shop, dry goods stores where the Amish buy materials to make their own clothing, and there is even an Amish bakery which makes mouth watering goodies to delight the tourists. Milk for the cheese factories is produced largely by the Amish people who inhabit the farm area surrounding Sugarcreek. Visitors in the Sugarcreek area get a glimpse of medieval culture as they see the Amish going about their farm work with horses instead of tractors and driving to town with horse and buggy instead of an automobile, for the Amish endeavor to live and work in the same manner as their forefathers. Their plain dress, the full beards of the male members of the sect and the black bonnets of the women set them apart from the modern world. The Amish originated in Europe as part of the Anabaptist movement which began in Switzerland in 1525.

Originally known as the Swiss Brethren, the Anabaptists were severely persecuted in their native Switzerland because of their baptismal beliefs which defied the state church. They moved to other parts of Europe and eventually a split occurred in their ranks. One group, led by Jacob Amman, felt that they were becoming too liberal in their dress and customs and left the main body of the Anabaptists. This group was called the Amish. The remaining members, led by Menno Simons, became known as the Mennonites. Wherever they went in Europe, the Amish suffered further persecution and finally in the late 1700's and early 1800's they migrated to America where they found religious freedom. They settled first in Pennsylvania and gradually moved westward into Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and other midwestern states. Western Tuscarawas and Eastern Holmes Counties attracted great numbers of the Amish and today this settlement, which encompasses Sugarcreek, has the largest concentration of Amish people anywhere in the world, with an estimated population of 15,000 to 18,000.

In spite of the influence and temptations of modern civilization the Old Order Amish have managed to maintain their simple way of life, wearing the traditional Amish clothing, farming with horse drawn machinery, and keeping house without benefit of electrical appliances. Their religion does not permit them to own tractors or automobiles, and they cannot have electricity or telephones in their homes. They have no musical instruments, radios or TV's in their homes. There are, however more liberal Amish groups who do permit their members to have tractors and automobiles, and they have electricity and telephones in their homes. They are known as the "church" Amish because they have church buildings for their worship services. The Old Order Amish are known as the "House" Amish because they do not have church buildings but hold services in the homes of the members every other Sunday. It is coincidental that centuries after the Amish forefathers left their native Switzerland, and in a land thousands of miles distant, their descendants are now producing milk for Swiss Cheese factories operated by other Swiss Natives and their descendants. These latter Swiss immigrants, from Canton Bern, landed in New York City in 1832 and made their way to Ohio on the Erie and Ohio Canals. Many of them settled in this area. These immigrants were cheesemakers by trade, an art they learned in their homeland.

By 1850 a few farmers had set up small factories and bought milk from other farmers to augment their own supply. Then, in the 1860's the number of such factories mushroomed and by the year 1900 there were nearly 300 of them in Ohio. Sugarcreek became the center for the industry after the railroad was built here and cheese was brought to Sugarcreek to be shipped by rail instead of being hauled to Dover to be shipped by canal. By the 1920's many of the small factories had been consolidated into larger and more modern factories. There are presently less than twenty Swiss Cheese factories in Ohio, but they convert over 591,000,000 pounds of milk into 53,000,000 pounds of the finest Swiss Cheese. Most of these factories are in the Sugarcreek area. THE SWISS FESTIVAL With its large population of Swiss immigrants and their descendants, and the many Swiss Cheese factories in the area, what could be more appropriate than a Swiss Festival in Sugarcreek featuring Swiss Cheese, Swiss Costumes, Swiss Music and Swiss Food? It all began in 1953, when a group of Sugarcreek citizens and area cheesemakers decided that something should be done to publicize Sugarcreek as the center of the Swiss Cheese making industry in Ohio. They formed a committee composed of four cheesemakers, four business men and four village officials. The committee hired some Swiss musicians, ordered enough food to feed a small army, rounded up plenty of Swiss cheese and put on a Festival so successful that there never was any doubt about it becoming an annual affair. That, in brief, is the story of how Sugarcreek became, for two days each year, the Swiss capital of Ohio. But that is only one phase of this story.

Encouraged by the success of the Festival, a local artist, Tom Miller, had the foresight to purchase one of the downtown business buildings and remodel it into a Swiss type structural. It was not long until other merchants followed suit and each year since then others have given their business places the Swiss treatment and now the entire downtown section has taken on the appearance of a Swiss village. As a result, Sugarcreek has become a tourist attraction far beyond the expectations of the originators of the Festival, and their avowed purpose of publicizing Sugarcreek as a Swiss Cheese center has been realized. The Festival itself is not a commercial venture. Any profit resulting from the sale of food and other concessions remains in the Festival treasury to perpetuate the event. Upwards of 100,000 people jam their way into Sugarcreek the fourth Friday and Saturday after Labor Day each year to enjoy the two day fun fest. Nationally known yodelers and Swiss musicians, along with polka bands, fill the air with music from noon to midnight each day, and Swiss athletic events such as the Schwinfest (Swiss wrestling) and Steinstossen (stone tossing) are featured. All entertainment is free. On Friday evening a queen is chosen to represent the Festival for the coming year. A kiddies' parade is held Friday afternoon and the huge Swiss Festival parade gets under way at 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon. The Swiss costumes worn by the entertainers and many of the townspeople and the Swiss music, all in an authentic Swiss atmosphere make this Ohio's most colorful festival.

SUGARCREEK INDUSTRIES Sugarcreek's enterprising citizens fathered many businesses and industries such as the Finzer Brothers Clay Company, the Shepfer & Moomas Brothers and Sugarcreek Clay Product Company clay plants now owned by the Belden Brick Company of Canton. Then there was the Sugarcreek Light & Power Company which was sold to the Ohio Power Company and Citizen's Bank which had become a branch of Huntington National Bank of Columbus. The Sugarcreek Food Processing Company and Swiss Cheese canning plant both operated successfully for a number of years. Sugarcreek's reputation as a progressive community, coupled with a dependable labor supply, attracted other industries to this area, such as Alsco Anaconda, manufacturers of aluminum storm windows and doors; Uhrden Inc., makers of materials handling equipment; Foremost-McKesson, which utilizes whey from the area cheese factories to produce dried whey; and Skyline Corporation which builds mobile homes. The number of jobs provided by these and other Sugarcreek industries, along with the retail and service establishments, nearly approximates the total population of the village.

CHURCHES * SCHOOLS * RECREATION Noted as a church going community, Sugarcreek has the United Church of Christ, Lutheran, United Methodist, Mennonite, Church of the Brethren, Church of God and Free Methodist churches. In addition there are numerous Amish congregations in the surrounding areas. From a small one room building located near what is now Sugarcreek's public square, the Sugarcreek school system has progressed to a modern elementary building on Miller Ave., and on Dover Street is Garaway High School, a consolidation of the schools of Sugarcreek, Auburn, Wayne and Bucks Townships. Recreation facilities include the Community Park, which provides excellent facilities for football, baseball and tennis; a municipal picnic grove with an 18 hole public golf course adjoining; and a 12 lane bowling establishment.

ALPINE HILLS MUSEUM The Alpine Hills Historical Museum, just off Sugarcreek's public square, depicts the merging of the Swiss and Amish cultures in the community by displays such as the Amish kitchen and a reproduction of an early Swiss Cheese Factory. There is also an early woodworking shop, an 1895 Sugarcreek Fire Department and an early printing shop, all with outstanding audio-visual presentation, along with three floors of antiques and artifacts. In addition there is a mini theater where visitors can enjoy a ten minute video presentation about cheese making, area industries and the Amish way of life. Between 40,000 and 50,000 people from all over the U.S. visit the museum annually and proclaim it one of the best. The museum is open April through November, Weekdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays and major holidays 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. There is no admission charge but donations are encouraged.