![]() ![]() For New Harmony a walking tour is not only convenient, but almost indispensable it is also comprehensive and modest in price. The Guys signed up for a guided walking tour despite usually preferring to discover things on their own. In stark contrast to Johnson’s organic Roofless Church, this all-white, angular, modernist structure housing a comprehensive interpretive center is stunning and iconic of New Harmony’s determination to preserve its past. Next up was the Atheneum/Visitors Center by Richard Meier. A signature work, the Roofless Church celebrates New Harmony’s origins. Occupying a city block, this restrained, non-sectarian, elegant complex was dedicated in 1960 and is world-renowned architecturally. First up was Philip Johnson’s Roofless Church with its Jacob Lipchitz sculpture and architectural elements. Arriving on an early Friday morning, the Guys biked around town first to get their bearings, because there is so much to see. Almost 200 years later, New Harmony, Ind., remains largely as it was when the Rappists and Owenites occupied it: a very small community (900+), but rich in history and preservation.Īugust in southern Indiana is hot and humid. Nevertheless, New Harmony did survive, under the tutelage of Owen family members who chose to stick with the general concept, as a place for useful intellectual inquiry in a frontier community – a place from which important geographical and geological research could be launched into the largely unexplored North American landmass. In brief, however, this New World experiment did not work: Despite an influx of enlightened intellectuals and scientific types seeking an environment of inquiry, common ownership was too much to swallow. The Owenites renamed the town New Harmony. Harmony was sold lock, stock and barrel to Robert Owen (1771-1858) in 1824.Ī successful Welsh industrialist and Utopian believer, Robert Owen perceived a chance to establish, using the substantial Harmony infrastructure of the departing Rappists, a commonwealth community based on intelligent inquiry and shared responsibility. ![]() ![]() Once the Indiana Rappists built their ideal community, there was less to do (while waiting for the Second Coming) and, as “idle hands are the Devil’s workshop,” there was time for mischief. Reminiscent of other early 19th-century experimental communities based on piety, celibacy, hard work and collective ownership, Harmony, Ind., failed because of human frailty. They moved back to Pennsylvania in 1824 (this time to Economy). The group first established themselves in Harmony, Penn., in 1804, but abandoned their prosperous enterprise to move to Indiana in 1814. The story of this social-experiment community begins in Germany with Johann Georg Rapp (1757-1847), a charismatic religious leader, and his followers, who were encouraged to take their beliefs elsewhere. But New Harmony is equally unique and fascinating. It seems to have seen no epic battles were fought and no conflicts of interest with Native Americans seem to have occurred. Smaller by comparison, New Harmony is best known for its Utopian origins and, although not far from Vincennes. 25 issue) in August 2011, they explored New Harmony, Ind., too. When Neil and Alan explored Vincennes (see Evanston RoundTable, Oct.
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