The Harmony Society was a Christian theosophy and pietist society founded in Iptingen, Germany, in 1785. Due to religious persecution by the Lutheran Church and the government in Württemberg, the group moved to the United States,Robert Paul Sutton, Communal Utopias and the American Experience: Religious Communities (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2004) p. 38. where representatives purchased land in Butler County, Pennsylvania. On February 15, 1805, the group of approximately 400 formally organized the Harmony Society at today's Harmony, Pennsylvania, settling on the land and placing all their goods in common.
Under its founder and spiritual leader, Johann Georg Rapp, Frederick (Reichert) Rapp, his adopted son who managed its business affairs, and their associates, the Society existed for one hundred years, roughly from 1805 until 1905. Members were known as Harmonists, Harmonites, or Rappites. The Society is best known for its worldly successes, most notably the establishment of three model communities, the first at Harmony, Pennsylvania; the second, also called Harmony, in the Indiana Territory, now New Harmony, Indiana; and the third and final town at Economy, now Ambridge, Pennsylvania.
Origins in Germany
Johann Georg Rapp, also known as George Rapp, was the founder of the religious sect called Harmonists, Harmonites, Rappites, or the Harmony Society. Rapp was a "bright but stubborn boy" who was also deeply religious. His "strong personality" and religious convictions began to concern local church authorities when he refused to attend church services or take communion.Karl J. R. Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, 1785–1847 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1965), p. 17–18. Rapp and his group of believers began meeting in Iptengen and eventually emigrated to the United States, where they established three communities: Harmony, Butler County, Pennsylvania; Harmony (later named New Harmony), Posey County, Indiana; and Economy, Beaver County, Pennsylvania.
Rapp became inspired by the philosophies of Jakob Böhme, Philipp Jakob Spener, Johann Heinrich Jung, and Emanuel Swedenborg among others, and later wrote Thoughts on the Destiny of Man, published in German in 1824 and in English a year later, in which he outlined his ideas and philosophy.John Archibald Bole, The Harmony Society: A Chapter in German American Culture History (Philadelphia: Americana Germanica Press, 1904) p. 45, 65. Rapp lived out his remaining days in Economy, where he died on August 7, 1847, at the age of 89.Karl J. R. Arndt, George Rapp's Successors and Material Heirs, 1847–1916 (Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1971), p. 17.
By the mid-1780s, Rapp had begun preaching to the Separatists, his followers in Iptengen, who met privately and refused to attend church services or take communion.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 20. As their numbers increased, Rapp's group officially split with the Lutheran Church in 1785 and was banned from meeting. Despite warnings from local authorities, the group continued to meet privately and attract even more followers.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 30.
By 1798 Rapp and his group of followers had already begun to distance themselves from mainstream society and intended to establish a new religious congregation of fellow believers. In the Lomersheimer declaration, written in 1798, these religious Separatists presented their statement of faith, based on Christian principles, to the Wurttemberg legislature.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 35. Rapp's followers declared their desire to form a separate congregation who would meet in members' homes, free from Lutheran Church doctrines. The group supported the belief that baptism was not necessary until children could decide for themselves whether they wanted to become a Christian. They also believed that confirmation for youth was not necessary and communion and confession would only be held a few times a year. Although the Separatists supported civil government, the group refused to make a physical oath in its support, "for according to the Gospel not oath is allowed him who gives evidence of a righteous life as an upright man."Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 39. They also refused to serve in the military or attend Lutheran schools, choosing instead to teach their children at home.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 38–39. This declaration of faith, along with some later additions, guided the Harmony Society's religious beliefs even after they had emigrated from Germany to the United States.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 40.
In the 1790s, Rapp's followers continued to increase, reaching as many as 10,000 to 12,000 members.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 46. The increasing numbers, which included followers outside of Rapp's village, continued to concern the government, who feared they might become rebellious and dangerous to the state.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 49. Although no severe actions were initially taken to repress the Separatists, the group began to consider emigration to France or the United States. In 1803, when the government began to persecute Rapp's followers, he decided to move the entire group to the United States. Rapp and a small group of men left Iptingen in 1803 and traveled to America to find a new home.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 49–50. On May 1, 1804, the first group of emigrants departed for the United States. The initial move scattered the followers and reduced Rapp's original group of 12,000 to just a few followers. Johan Frederich Reichert, who later agreed to become Rapp's adopted son and took the name of Frederick Reichert Rapp, reported in a letter dated February 25, 1804, that there were "at least 100 families or 500 persons actually ready to go" even if they had to sacrifice their property.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 54.
Encounter with the Haugeans In September 1817 , a ship with 500 immigrants from Württemberg, including a number of Rappites, was forced to stop in Norway because of poor weather conditions. Staying in Bergen for about a year and provided with housing by the authorities, they were warmly accepted by the followers of the Pietistic Haugean movement. The two groups found much in common and held devotions together, with some of the Germans learning Norwegian during their stay. Samson Trae, a Haugean leader, noted that "It gave us extreme joy to realize that the foundation of your faith accords with the true word of God."Letter from Samson Traae, in the Manuscript Collection of The University Library, Oslo; letters from Kyllingen and Seglem in Haugean Letter-bank, manuscript in Norsk historisk kjeldeskriftinstitutt, Oslo. After Rapp's followers left to settle in the United States, the two groups remained in contact for at least some time. In one letter, the Rappites stated, "Our hearts have often longed for your loving and edifying company since we came to America. We have longed more for Bergen than for Germany because of the love with which you received us and re-freshed us in body and spirit."German emigrants to "Dear, beloved Brothers and Sisters of God’s Society in Bergen", May 14, 1819, in Haugean Letter-hook, manuscript in Norsk historisk kjeldeskriftinstitutt, Oslo.
Settlements in the United States In 1804, while Rapp and his associates remained in the United States looking for a place to settle, his followers sailed to America aboard several vessels and made their way to western Pennsylvania, where they waited until land had been selected for their new settlement.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 65–69. Rapp was able to secure a large tract of land in Pennsylvania and started his first commune, known as Harmonie or Harmony, in Butler County, Pennsylvania,Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 72. where the Society existed from 1804 to 1815.Karl J. R. Arndt, The Harmony Society from its beginnings in Germany in 1785 to its Liquidation in the United States in 1905 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1953), p. 189. It soon grew to a population of about 800, and was highly profitable. Ten years later, the town was sold and the Harmonists moved westward to the Indiana Territory, where they established the town of Harmony, now called New Harmony, Indiana, and remained there from 1815 to 1825. The Indiana settlement was sold to Robert Owen and was renamed New Harmony. Ten years after the move to Indiana the commune moved again, this time returning to western Pennsylvania, and named their third and final town Economy ( in German). The Harmonists lived in Economy until the Society was dissolved in 1905.
Articles of association On February 15, 1805, the settlers at Harmony, Pennsylvania, signed articles of association to formally establish the Harmony Society in the United States. In this document, Society members agreed to hold all property in a common fund, including working capital of $23,000 to purchase land, livestock, tools, and other goods needed to establish their town.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 71. The agreement gave the Society legal status in the United States and protected it from dissolution. Members contributed all of their possessions, pledged cooperation in promoting the interests of the group, and agreed to accept no pay for their services. In return, the members would receive care as long as they lived with the group. Under this agreement, if a member left the Society, their funds would be returned without interest or, if they had not contributed to the Society's treasury, they would receive a small monetary gift.Bole, p. 33–34.
The Society was a religious congregation who submitted to spiritual and material leadership under Rapp and his associates and worked together for the common good of all its members.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 75. Believing that the Second Coming of Christ would occur during their lifetimes, the Harmonists contented to live simply under a strict religious doctrine, gave up tobacco, and advocated celibacy.
First settlement: Harmony, Pennsylvania
In December 1804 Rapp and a party of two others initially contracted to purchase of land for $11,250 in Butler County, Pennsylvania,William E. Wilson, The Angel and the Serpent: The Story of New Harmony (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1964), p. 13. and later acquired additional land to increase their holdings to approximately by the time they advertised their property for sale in 1814.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 135, 137. Here they built the town of Harmony, a small community that had, in 1805, nearly 50 log houses, a large barn, a gristmill, and more than 150 acres of cleared land to grow crops.Arndt, George Rapp's Harmony Society, p. 76.