These words may be the seeds of Rapp's desire to find a new home for the Society. In 1814 they agreed to sell "the town of Harmonie with all its improvements, and about 9,000 acres of land adjoining - on which there are three villages" to Abraham Ziegler, a Mennonite from Lehigh County, Pa. for $100,000.
The Harmonists moved to southwestern Indiana, to found the town of "New Harmonie" on the Wabash River. Ten years later they returned to western Pennsylvania to found yet another new home, "Economie" (near Ambridge). There the Society flourished in its golden years (1825-1868), then declined until its dissolution by a few remaining members in 1905, just 100 years from its association. |