Past to present. Tuscarawas County was established in 1808. "Tuscarawas" is an Indian word meaning "open mouth". Presumably this related to the large valley that lay between the surrounding hills. The county has been abundant in coal and fire-clay deposits. The Twin City area was known as the Clay Capital of the World. The introduction of plastic pipe in the 1960's began the demise of the clay industry. There were also countless brickyards throughout the county. Today only two brickyards and one clay pipe yard, specializing in fireplaces and decorative chimney tops, survive.
Early history of the county involved German speaking Moravian missionaries who came to Christianize the Indians. The local summertime outdoor drama, Trumpet in the Land, tells the story of the early settlers in Tuscarawas county.
In 1872 the railroad from Cleveland to Wheeling was built through Strasburg. In the early 1890's, Grant Kanagy influenced a Cleveland company to make fire brick near Strasburg. There was a brewery in Strasburg for about 5 years in the 1880's. There is little history on this short lived venture. The largest brewery in Tuscarawas county was the New Philadelphia Brewing Company, started in the late 1800's. In post-prohibition era the company expanded to nearly 100,000 barrels annually and had a modern bottling line capable of filling up to 58,000 packages of beer each day. We hope to find some old recipe's to recreate some of the lost brands they produced such as, Scotch Highland Ale, Royal Canadian Style Beer, Schoenbrunn Pale Ale, Black Jack Lager, Cafe Society Beer and Old Vat Beer. If you have any information on the New Philadelphia Brewing Company or the Strasburg Brewery, please contact us at mlindon@brickyardbrewery.com