Dresden is a village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River at the mouth of Wakatomika Creek. The population was 1,650 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Zanesville micropolitan area. It was incorporated on March 9, 1835.
History
18th century
Dresden is located on or near the site of a Shawnee (Native American) village known as Wakatomika, which gave its name to Wakatomika Creek, the creek that empties into the Muskingum River near the northern edge of the village. These were the easternmost of the Shawnee villages, and the home of the most hostile of that tribe. David Zeisberger, the Moravian missionary, preached there in 1773 in an effort to convert them; but the wrongs done to Chief Logan and other Ohio Native Americans were discussed at this place with much rancor, and war parties had been going out from here against the white settlers in spite of attempts by the Delaware (tribe) to intercede. On August 7, 1774, Colonel Angus McDonald brought 400 men from Fort Pittsburg in the Wakatomica Campaign of Lord Dunmore's War to fight the Shawnee. The settlement of Wakatomika, as well as four other villages, was burned to the ground and three chiefs were taken prisoner.
In 1799, Jonathan Cass became one of the first settlers in the area, claiming 4000 acres of land. His family joined him in 1801. In 1875, the remains of Major Jonathan Cass were removed to the Dresden cemetery, by Dr. Edward Cass, and over the remains of the family in their final resting place has been erected a magnificent monument by the Cass family. Beneath the name of Jonathan Cass is this inscription: "He was a soldier at the battle of Bunker Hill; an officer of the Revolution, and of the army, which, under General Wayne, gave peace to the frontier. From New England, he emigrated to this part of the wilds of the Northwestern Territory. On the military land he purchased, he lived a peaceful and quiet life thirty years, until death claimed him for a victim.
Seth Adams of Boston also settled the area in 1799 Mordecai Ogle settled on a farm about half a mile northeast of Dresden in 1802. Seth Carhart, Valentine Johnson and Isaac Cordray were elected as trustees. John Wamsley and James Sprague were elected "Overseers of the poor". James Wilcox and William Elben were elected as township fence viewers. Peter Reasoner and Jacob Jackson were elected "listers and appraisers". Henry Northrup and James Tanner were elected "supervisors of highways". At this same time, John Cain was township clerk. Since he wasn't elected in this election, it is reasonable to assume there was at least one election held prior to this one in 1805. In 1822 Laban Lemert expanded into the distillery business. In 1848, John W. Wallace published a single edition of a newspaper called the Visitor. There wouldn't be another newspaper in Dresden until Wallace and Agnew produced the Advocate in 1850, which had a run of about two years. At that time a man by name of Mr. Sygford took over the paper and changed the name to The Intelligencer.
Also in 1852, L. J. Lemert opened the first bank in Dresden.
Dresden is the birthplace of the Longaberger Company, famous for handmade maple splint baskets. Started in 1919 by the J.W. Longaberger family, the company employed nearly 2,000 people as the largest manufacturer of handmade baskets in the United States. The company liquidated in 2018. Its former headquarters in Newark, Ohio is the home of "The World's Largest Basket", according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
The Dresden Plant, a natural gas power plant, was built south of Dresden. It began commercial generation in 2012.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Climate
Demographics
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, the median income for a household in the village was $38,523, and the median income for a family was $48,977. Males had a median income of $31,324 versus $21,524 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,527. About 5.9% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.
2010 census
As of the census
Notable people
- George Willison Adams, industrialist and president of the Northern Pacific Railway