Indiana Centennial Card No. 09

Description:	Series 1. No. 9. Harmonie, 1816M. R. Hyman, Publisher, IndianapolisThe two communities in Posey county, “Harmonie” and “New Harmony,” are distinctive features in the State’s history and have an abiding interest for the students of social experiments.The first of these, Harmonie, was established in 1815 by George Rapp and his followers, a German religious sect. These purchased a tract of something like thirty thousand acres on the Wabash, lived there for ten years, built a substantial village and literally made “the wilderness to blossom as the rose.” They were industrious, simple minded, intensely religious and docile to their leader. One of their tenets was the abolishment of sex relations and the marriage tie. All property was held in common.In 1824 the “Rappites,” as they are called, sold out their holdings to Robert Owen, a notable Scotch philanthropist, whose aspiration was to establish a new social order involving the principle of communiam. He re-named the place New Harmony. Owen drew to him a large but heterogeneous following, and the history of his experiment is a sharp contrast to that of the Rappites. There were erratic divergences of opinion and general dissension, in the midst of which the idea of a harmonious community working to common ends went to wreck.Owen and his chief co-worker, William Maclure, whose dream it was to establish a great school, soon left the community in the hands of others. It failed utterly of the original intentions, but the able men who continued to reside there gave the town a character that is unique in our annals.Adapted from Cottman-Hyman Centennial History of Indiana. Copyrighted 1916.Indiana Centennial Historic Mailing Card 1816-1916
Origin:	1916
Publisher:	M. R. Hyman
Source:	http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16827coll7/id/485
Collection:	Postcards
Copyright:	This item is in the public domain. For more information, contact local.history@sjcpl.org.
Subjects:	Indiana--History Indiana--Centennial Celebrations, etc.

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