New Harmony (Ind.)

New Harmony, in Posey County in southwestern Indiana, was the site of two utopian experiments in the early 19th century. The first, the Harmony Society, was a group of German Pietists who had come from Pennsylvania in 1804 and founded a communist society. Led by George Rapp, they settled at New Harmony from 1815 to 1825. In 1825 the New Harmony settlement was bought by the British industralist and philanthropist Robert Owen, who attempted to put into effect his theories of socialism and human betterment. The Owenite community failed after two years, but Owen and his family continued both their ownership of the land at New Harmony and their interest in social reform.

From the description of Collection, 1814-1884. (Indiana Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 19771667