New Harmony

NARRATOR: This Indiana Bicentennial minute is made possible by the Indiana Historical Society and law firm of Krieg DeVault.

Drawn images of the bird’s eye view of New Harmony in Indiana is shown.

PAULEY: A lot of people have considered Indiana a utopia. George Rap brought his German-American Harmony Society in 1814 and built, “New Harmony.”

Men and women in 18th-century-style plain dress is shown.

PAULEY: A remarkable communal society with a famous labyrinth and a bank so prosperous that it lend the state money, all while society members awaited the second coming in celibacy. In 1825, they sold New Harmony to a secular Scotsman named Robert Owen, who invited anyone to come and help create a new moral order.

PAULEY: Both groups achieved technology and science unrivaled in the country and the New Harmony School of Industry was the forerunner of today’s vocational college. Utopia in Indiana? A lot of us Hoosiers have known it for years. I’m Jane Pauley with this Indiana Bicentennial Minute.

NARRATOR: Made possible by the Indiana Historical Society and law firm of Krieg DeVault.