Pioneer Days

August 3-5

Saturday August 4th Historic Figures and Talk

Sunday 2 pm - Annual Pioneer Days Collectible Crock Auction

A Word from Gerard Heath:

My name is Gerard Heath. I am a current member of the Moravian Band of the Delaware Indians, now known as the Delaware Nation at Moraviantown.On March 8th 2018, it will be the 236th anniversary of the Gnadenhutten Massacre of the Moravian Delaware Indians. The remains of these 96 Christian Indians lay exposed to the forest animals and the weather for over 15 years before being piled in a mass grave called the Burial Mound for the Christian Indian Martyrs. The Ohio Historical Society erected a marker at the site that calls the Gnadenhutten Massacre of March 8th 1782 a National Day of Shame..

My great great grandfather, Christian Moses Stonefish, dedicated the obelisk that stands in the Gnadenhutten Historical Park, erected as a memorial in 1872, and it is my family interred in that burial mound. It is for this reason I am trying to raise awareness of the day and to raise funds to erect a Christian Cross at the burial mound and erect wrought iron fencing around other appropriate areas in the park. Any effort to share this information in the news media or on social media outlets on March 8th, would be greatly appreciated and help to achieve this goal.

I will be at the park at sunrise, the hour the massacre began, standing vigil, and answering questions for reporters or anyone else with questions. Later in the morning, at 10 am, there will be a gathering at the burial mound to pray for and remember the victims. Attending the service will be Gnadenhutten citizens, Pastor Darrell Johnson of the John Heckwelder Moravian Church, Stacey Halfmoon from the Ohio History Connection, and members of Gnadenhutten Historical Society. Also, representatives of the Woodworkers of Central Ohio that will be fabricating the cross will be in attendance.

Click on the Link to the Christian Cross Project above and watch a video that tells the story of the massacre and speaks to my request to erect a Christian Cross.

Please share this video. Please send it to news outlets if you have those connections. My goal is national news coverage on the morning of March 8th, from the Gnadenhutten Historical Park.

Tax deductible deductions can be sent to:

The Gnadenhutten Historical Society - Christian Cross Project

c/o John Heil

156 Spring St.

Gnadenhutten, Ohio 44629

Thank you for considering my request and may God bless you for your support of these Wilderness Christians.

Gerard F. Heath

Member

Delaware Nation at Moraviantown