New Harmony

New Harmony town (1990 pop. 846), Posey co., SW Ind., on the Wabash River; founded 1814 by the Harmony Society under George Rapp. In 1825 the Harmonists sold their holdings to Robert Owen and moved to Economy, Pa., where their sect survived into the early 1900s. Owen established a communistic colony in New Harmony that gained prominence as a cultural and scientific center and attracted many noted scientists, educators, and writers. Dissension arose, and in 1828 the community ceased to exist as a distinct enterprise, although the town remained an intellectual center. The nation's first kindergarten, first free public school, first free library, and first school with equal education for boys and girls were all established there. Some 25 Rappite buildings remain in New Harmony.

Bibliography: See studies by K. J. Arndt (rev. ed. 1972) and W. E. Wilson, (1984).

New Harmony, socialized community on the Wabash River in Indiana, founded by the Rappists (1814) as an outgrowth of their Harmony Society. Upon their failure, it was purchased by Robert Owen (1825) for use in applying his communal theories. Although some 1000 settlers arrived, most of them were impractical theorists. During the two years of its existence, New Harmony had seven different forms of government or constitutions. Dissensions and ten group secessions led to the final dissolution of the community (1828). The New‐Harmony Gazette (1825–35), its weekly periodical, interpreted and recorded the progress of the colony. After the community disbanded, Robert Dale Owen, Frances Wright, and others broadened the scope of the magazine. It became a socialist and agnostic periodical, and in 1829 the title became The Free Enquirer.

New Harmony, Indiana/USA Harmonie Settled in 1814 by George Rapp, a German preacher. The settlement was sold in 1825 to a British reformer, Robert Owen, who renamed the place New Harmony after the ill‐feeling between the Harmonists and their neighbours subsided.