City of New Philadelphia

The City of New Philadelphia has a history as rich and colorful as the valley that surrounds it. In 1804, John Knisely founded our town just west of the site of Schoenbrunn, a Moravian Indian missionary town. Taverns and merchants thrived here as the village was a focal point for travelers and settlers from the east. With the construction of the Ohio-Erie Canal, New Philadelphia became a marketing center for agricultural products and the canal provided water power for mills. The coming of railroads led to coal mining and, eventually, to steel and manufacturing.