New Harmony, Indiana
| New Harmony, Indiana | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 |
|
 Location in the state of Indiana |
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| Coordinates: 38°7′43″N 87°56′3″W / 38.12861°N 87.93417°WCoordinates: 38°7′43″N 87°56′3″W / 38.12861°N 87.93417°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Indiana |
| County | Posey |
| Township | Harmony |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.65 sq mi (1.68 km2) |
| • Land | 0.64 sq mi (1.66 km2) |
| • Water | 0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2) |
| Elevation | 381 ft (116 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 789 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 774 |
| • Density | 1,232.8/sq mi (476.0/km2) |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 47631 |
| Area code(s) | 812 |
| FIPS code | 18-52974 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0440051 |
| Website | http://www.newharmony-in.gov |
New Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana, United States. It lies 15 miles (24 km) north of Mount Vernon, the county seat. The population was 789 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Evansville metropolitan area.
Established by the Harmony Society in 1814, the town was originally known as Harmony (also called Harmonie, or New Harmony). Bought at two dollars an acre, the 20,000-acre (8,100 ha) settlement was the brainchild of George Rapp and was home exclusively to German Lutherans in its early years. Here, the Harmonists built a new town in the wilderness, but in 1824 they decided to sell their property and return to Pennsylvania.Robert Owen, a Welsh industrialist and social reformer, purchased the town in 1825 with the intention of creating a new utopian community and renamed it New Harmony. While the Owenite social experiment was an economic failure just two years after it began, the community made some important contributions to American society.
New Harmony became known as a center for advances in education and scientific research. New Harmony's residents established the first free library, a civic drama club, and a public school system open to men and women. Its prominent citizens included Owen's sons, Indiana congressman and social reformer Robert Dale Owen, who sponsored legislation to create the Smithsonian Institution; David Dale Owen, a noted state and federal geologist; William Owen; and Richard Owen, state geologist, Indiana University professor, and first president of Purdue University. The town served as the second headquarters of the U.S. Geological Survey and numerous scientists and educators contributed to New Harmony’s intellectual community, including William Maclure, Marie Louise Duclos Fretageot, Thomas Say, Charles-Alexandre Lesueur, Joseph Neef, Frances Wright, and others.
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