First Settlement

The first settlement was founded by the Harmony Society in 1814. A group of people left their church and home in Pennsylvania with their leader Johann Georg Rapp. They settled in Indiana and built a community.

The townspeople lived by the rules "Work, work, work! Save, save, save! Pray and Work!" This resulted in a well functioning town nicknamed "the wonder of the west." There were 126 family homes built.

Their businesses prospered. Agricultural and manufactured products were marketed to major cities in the United States and even in other countries. The town was largely self-sufficient meaning that they produced everything they needed to run the town, right there. There were 2000 acres of great farm land, including a 15-acre vineyard and a 35-acre orchard of the best apple and pear trees.

They stayed 10 years. In 1825, the Harmonists moved back to Pennsylvania and built a new town there.