Shanesville: 200 Years On The Hill

05/25/2026

MAY 30, 1882 – MEMORIAL DAY: "On fame's eternal camping ground, their silent tents are spread." Veterans of American wars buried in Sugarcreek Township, Ohio are: James Cotton (1821-72), Civil War, Hardscrabble Cemetery; Johann Wyss (1828-76), Civil War, Old Shanesville Cemetery; Dr. N.W. Yoder (1837-77), Civil War, Old Shanesville Cemetery; Jacob Baltzly (1793-1867), War of 1812, Old Shanesville Cemetery; Henry Williams (?-1835), War of 1812, Old Shanesville Cemetery; David Resler (1840-1863), Civil War, Albright U.B. Cemetery; James S. Gordon (?-1881), Civil War, Bunker Hill Cemetery; John Teeters (?-1862), Civil War, Bunker Hill Cemetery; Daniel Miller (?-?), Civil War, Miller Family Cemetery; George Richardson (?-?), Richardson Family Cemetery.

Note: Resler/Rasler and Teeters/Tetters both died while serving the Union during the Civil War. Dr. Noah Yoder (pictured) died after the war due in large part to the injuries he suffered in service, and based on how young a few of these men were, I suspect Yoder wasn't the only one. I cannot determine where Miller and Richardson are buried. However, there is a Daniel Miller who fits the age, buried at what's recorded today as Budd Deuker Cemetery, but was a small Miller family cemetery along Spooky Hollow and Old Route 39.

01/31/2026

A birdseye – or more accurately, a water tower view – of Shanesville in 1959, facing south. I presume this was taken by Wade Miller, since he's the only person I know who climbed the tower to take photos. It must have been cold up there that day. This was in a folder Roger Weaver shared with me several years ago, which I just stumbled across while doing some other research. I don't recall seeing it before and am not sure of the original source.

12/05/2025

Our prayers and condolences go out to Pastor Barb's family, friends and parishioners. This is a difficult time for the Lutheran congregations at Shanesville and Baltic.

View Barbara DeBord's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

08/17/2025

To the sawmill...
I recently came across this photo among some Baltic belongings of Verbal Yoder Zinkon. Verbal was from Shanesville, a daughter of Albert and Sarah Yoder, but taught the younger classes at the Baltic school in the early 1900s. She would board at Baltic during the week and then return to Shanesville on the weekends via the train.

Our first reaction was to identify this as the town square, with the hardware/grocery store behind them. However, the architecture and location of the building up along the street don't match. That's also not the old hotel in the background. However, the large white building does match Doerschuk's Meat Market on Mill Street. This is Shanesville, but it's Mill/SR 93, looking south from below the public square at the intersection of Shane Drive. There is no date or identification on the photo.

06/21/2025

It's hot out there and the heat index is rising this week. If you're out and about in Shanesville, stay hydrated and stop for a rest and some shade at the Bob Gotshall memorial bench. Bob was the nicest of people and had a positive impact on so many students from Garaway and beyond. During the 200th Anniversary of Shanesville in 2014 he jumped in and helped prepare for the celebration in any way he could. We miss him!

06/13/2025

Join us Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM for the remembrance of Shanesville's earliest minister Abraham Snyder and the dedication of the plaque telling his story. The forecast has this looking increasingly like a service at the Shanesville Lutheran Church rather than the cemetery.