Utopia Tried and Failed. Twice.

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Howdy, everyone, I’m back out at it again. This time I headed west, although not too far west. I’m spending the night in Evansville after spending the day walking around a small southwestern community that tried for “utopia” twice. And failed both times. @MarieCoyle suggested that I visit the historical town of New Harmony, Indiana. It’s been on my list of places to “get around to seeing,” and today I did it! It’s one of those super quaint little towns, loaded with 200-year-old buildings, artisan shops, beautiful scenery along the Wabash River, and history. The history dates to 1814, when George Rapp, a former Lutheran who’d founded a sect known as the “Harmony Society” (or Harmonites), settled in the area in Posey County, Indiana. It was not uncommon in those days for those with a literal interpretation of the Bible to believe that the millennial kingdom of Christ was soon at hand (other faiths that harbored that belief included the Shakers, the Adventists, and the Holiness movement). Rapp, not unlike the Shakers, sought to separate the believers from “the world” and live in complete faith and service to one another, shunning “worldly” things (including sex). He founded a community in Pennsylvania in 1805 and called it “Harmony.” In 1814 he moved to Indiana and started a second town, known as “New Harmony.” In both cases, the goal was to live in Biblical unity, preparing the members for the return of Christ. Not-too-long story short: it failed. Rapp sold his Pennsylvania property to the Mennonites, and the Indiana town was sold to Robert Owen after the Harmonites had a number of disharmonious disagreements (most accusing Rapp of founding a dystopia instead of a utopia). Owen was at the other end of the spectrum: he was a deist, not fond of religion, and a socialist. He took the town of New Harmony and attempted the utopian setup again, this time based on social, not religious, equalities. His experiment lasted less than two years before it collapsed. The town is filled with buildings that were built by the Harmonites (the man at the welcome center said Owen’s people weren’t educated in the ways of building things), many still in use as restaurants, shops, and a lodge. Unlike other “artisan” towns, it wasn’t flooded with people today (of course, this being a weekday, that may have kept the attendance to a minimum). It was just a pleasant walk through a pleasant area to look at history still standing and ponder the problems of people not being able to get along. PHOTOS: (Top left) Small cascade into the lake at Tillich Park (named for Lutheran theologian Paul Tillich, who is buried in New Harmony) (Top right) One of the many 200-year-old buildings to admire while walking around town (Bottom left) Replica of the original Harmonist Brick Church (Bottom right) The Roofless Church