New Harmony Historic District

Last updated

New Harmony Historic District
NewHarmonyIndiana.jpg
Harmony Society buildings in New Harmony Historic District, Indiana
USA Indiana location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationMain St. between Granary and Church Sts., New Harmony, Indiana
Coordinates 38°7′48″N87°56′8″W / 38.13000°N 87.93556°W / 38.13000; -87.93556
Built1815
Architectural styleGreek Revival, Gothic
NRHP reference No. 66000006 [1]  (original)
00000669  (increase)
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966
Boundary increaseMay 3, 2000
Designated NHLDJuly 23, 1965 [2]

The New Harmony Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District in New Harmony, Indiana. It received its landmark designation in 1965, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, with a boundary increase in 2000. The district includes properties within the Historic New Harmony State Historic Site. Twelve buildings from the early 19th century and twenty from the mid-19th century are within the district. The original boundary was Main Street between Granary and Church Streets and was later increased to include the area bounded by North and Steam Mill Streets and between Third and Arthur Streets. [3]

Contents

The district was nominated for the National Register under the themes of social and humanitarian movement, with areas of significance including architecture, social history, and science. Its period of significance, 1814 to 1867, covers the Harmonist and Owen/Maclure eras in New Harmony's history. Individuals and groups who have made significant contributions to the town's utopian communities and have ties to the structures within the district include the Harmony Society, George Rapp, Robert Owen, Robert Dale Owen, David Dale Owen, Thomas Say, Charles-Alexandre Lesueur, William Maclure, Joseph Neef, and Marie Duclos Fretageot, among others. [4] [5]

District history

The State of Indiana created the first New Harmony Memorial Commission in 1937 to help preserve and protect the community's history. [6] Following the restoration of several historic properties, the state interpreted the site as the New Harmony State Memorial, which was later renamed the New Harmony State Historic Site. In 1965 a study completed by the National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings identified New Harmony as a place of national significance. That same year, New Harmony was designated a National Historic Landmark district by the U.S. Department of the Interior. [7] [8]

A second New Harmony Memorial Commission, established in 1973, assisted with further preservation and development efforts. Between 1974 and 1980, Historic New Harmony, Inc., a private, nonprofit organization with grant funding from The Lilly Endowment, Inc., acquired and restored additional properties of historical significance. [7] In 1977 National Park Service historian Joseph Mendinghall prepared a nomination for 19 properties with ties to the Harmonist/Owenite era, 1814 to 1867. These properties, spread throughout the community, were listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 12, 1977; however, additional resources, including the original grid plan of the town and the site of the original Harmonist churches were not included in the nomination. [8]

In 1985 the University of Southern Indiana partnered with Historic New Harmony to preserve and maintain the town's historic structures and to offer educational and cultural programs. [9] In 1991 Historic New Harmony combined its resources with the state-owned New Harmony State Historic Site to establish a "unified program" of the University of Southern Indiana and the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. The state's New Harmony Memorial Commission oversees the efforts of the two groups. [6] [7]

Philip Johnson's Roofless Church Roofless church, New Harmony, Indiana 1.JPG
Philip Johnson's Roofless Church

A National Register of Historic Places nomination with an expanded boundary for the New Harmony Historic District was published on May 3, 2000. [1] The boundary increase included resources dating from 1825 to 1867, the period when New Harmony was purchased by Robert Owen until the Owenite influence on the town waned after the American Civil War. [10] As of May 2012, the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites operates and preserves several properties within the New Harmony Historic District: Community House Number 2, Thrall's Opera House, Fauntleroy House, Harmonist Cemetery, Harmonist Labyrinth, and Mattias Scholle House. [6] Other sites within the district include Philip Johnson's Roofless Church; New Harmony's Atheneum, an award-winning contemporary design by Richard Meier, completed in 1979, that serves as the visitors center for touring the historic district; and Maple Hill Cemetery. [3] [7] [11]

Buildings and sites

Amon Clarence Thomas House Amon Clarence Thomas House.jpg
Amon Clarence Thomas House
Mattias Scholle House Mattias Scholle House.jpg
Mattias Scholle House

Twenty-five buildings and eight sites within the district were built by the Harmony Society between 1814 and 1824. [12] Homes that are listed separately on the National Register include: Amon Clarence Thomas House, Mattias Scholle House, Ludwig Epple House, and George Bentel House. The National Historic Landmark nomination for the district's boundary increase identified 59 contributing and 99 noncontributing structures. The expanded district includes sixteen properties already designated as National Historic Landmarks, resources from previous NHL designations, and additional buildings, sites, and structures from the Rappite/Harmonist and Owenite communities. [13]

The district includes reconstructed log cabins, a potter's shop, and barns representative of early Harmonist structures. [14] The sites of early Harmonist churches, the Harmonist cemetery, and a cemetery wall built from brick used in the second Harmonist church are also part of the historic district. The cemetery, in keeping with Harmonist tradition of equality among all its members, has no gravestones within the cemetery wall. Native American mounds from the Middle Woodland Period more than two thousand years old are also found on the cemetery grounds. [15] [16] Church Park includes the sites of the first (1815 to 1822) and second (1822) Harmonist churches. [17]

Harmonist Labyrinth Harmonist Labyrinth pathway.jpg
Harmonist Labyrinth
Thrall's Opera House Historic Opera House, New Harmony, Indiana LCCN2010630162 (cropped).tif
Thrall's Opera House

Other notable Harmonist sites and structures include the Rope Walk, part of the original 1,100-foot walk used to stretch, dry, and twist hemp into rope [15] and the Harmonist Labyrinth, replanted and rebuilt in 1939 near its original site. [18] Community House Number 2, a three-story, brick dormitory for single Harmonist members built in 1822, was later used by the Owen community for community activities, including a school. [19] Thrall's Opera House/Community House Number 4, built in 1824, is a two-story Harmonist brick community house with Romanesque Revival alterations. Originally a Harmonist dormitory, the Owen community used it as a family dwelling, warehouse, and a place for public events. Renamed Union Hall in 1859, the building was used as a theater for a local acting company. After Eugene Thrall became its sole owner in 1888, the building was renamed Thrall's Opera House. In the early 20th century it was used as a nickelodeon movie house and later a gas station/garage before it was restored as a Victorian-era theater. [17] [20]

Restored Rapp-Owen Granary Rapp Granary 1818 in New Harmony, Indiana.jpg
Restored Rapp-Owen Granary

The restored Rapp-Owen Granary, a five-story, brick, sandstone, and wood structure completed in 1818, is "the largest granary of its type built by German craftsmen in the United States" and "served as David Dale Owen's laboratory from 1843 to 1859." (Owen was appointed Indiana's first state geologist in 1837.) Operated as a wool mill and a cornmeal mill, the structure was reconverted to a granary and placed on the National Register in 1965. After a two-year restoration from 1997 to 1999, the granary serves as a museum and events facility. [21]

Ludwig Epple House Ludwig Epple House.jpg
Ludwig Epple House
George Bentel House George Bentel House.jpg
George Bentel House

The Harmonists also built timber-frame dwellings for its members. The David Lenz House, circa 1822, is a timber frame, two-story residence typical of the Harmonist period. [22] [23] Other Harmonist homes individually listed on the National Register include the Mattias Scholle House, a two-story, brick home of the town's shoemaker built in 1822; [24] the Ludwig Epple House, a two-story frame home built in 1822; and the George Bentel House, another two-story example of brick construction, circa 1822. The Fauntleroy house, an 1822 two-story, frame Harmonist home modified in 1840, was the residence of the Franz Pfeil family, members of the Harmonist Society. Later residents include inventor Oliver Evans Jr. and the family of Robert Henry Fauntleroy and Jane Dale Owen Fauntleroy. The Fauntleroy's daughter, Constance, organized the Minerva Society, a women's literary club, in the home's parlor in 1859. [25] [26]

Structures built during the Owen period (1825 to 1867) generally reflect domestic architecture of the time. For example, the John Beal house, built circa 1829, reflects Federal/Greek Revival styles. The Owen House, known as "1830 House" and built by Robert Owen's sons, is a two-story, brick residence with a Federal style appearance. The Chadwick-Fretageot house is similar to the "1830 house." The David Dale Owen Laboratory is an 1849 Gothic Revival two-story brick laboratory, the Rapp-Maclure-Owen House, circa 1844, is a one-story, brick Greek Revival-style home, and the Schnee-Ribeyer-Elliott home is an 1867/1895 two and one-half story brick Greek Revival/Italianate home. [27]

Workingmen's Institute New Harmony Workingmen's Institute.jpg
Workingmen's Institute

Two properties built outside the district's period of significance of 1814 to 1867 were grandfathered from the 1965 National Register designation because they relate to the continued work of the Workingman's Institute, founded by geologist and philanthropist William Maclure in 1838. These buildings include the Workingmen's Institute, a three-story, brick Romanesque Revival building constructed in 1894, and Murphy Auditorium, built in 1913, a three-story, brick Neoclassical auditorium. [28] [29] In addition to historically significant resources, the district includes over one hundred noncontributing buildings and sites constructed outside the Harmonist-Owenite period of significance. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harmony Society</span> Christian theosophy and pietist society

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, where representatives initially purchased land in Butler County, Pennsylvania. On February 15, 1805, the group of approximately 400 followers formally organized the Harmony Society, placing all their goods in common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Harmony, Indiana</span> Town in Indiana, United States

New Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana. It lies 15 miles (24 km) north of Mount Vernon, the county seat, and is part of the Evansville metropolitan area. The town's population was 690 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corydon Historic District</span> Historic district in Indiana, United States

The Corydon Historic District is a national historic district located in Corydon, Indiana, United States. The town of Corydon is also known as Indiana's First State Capital and as Historic Corydon. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, but the listing was amended in 1988 to expand the district's geographical boundaries and include additional sites. The district includes numerous historical structures, most notably the Old Capitol, the Old Treasury Building, Governor Hendricks' Headquarters, the Constitution Elm Memorial, the Posey House, the Kintner-McGrain House, and The Kintner House Inn, as well as other residential and commercial sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Economy Village</span> United States historic place

Old Economy Village is an historic settlement that is located in Ambridge, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. Administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, it lies on the banks of the Ohio River and is surrounded by downtown Ambridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Newport History</span> United States historic place

The Museum of Newport History is a history museum in the Old Brick Market building in the heart of Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It is owned and operated by the Newport Historical Society at 127 Thames Street on Washington Square. The building, designed by noted 18th-century American architect Peter Harrison and built in the 1760s, is a National Historic Landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockerbie Square Historic District</span> Historic district in Indiana, United States

Lockerbie Square Historic District is a national historic district on the National Register of Historic Places within Indianapolis, Indiana, listed on February 23, 1973, with a boundary increase on July 28, 1987. It is noted for its Federal, Italianate, and Queen Anne style architecture. The original platting of Lockerbie Square, done by Jannett Smith Lockerbie McOuat and named for her father, Scottish immigrant George Murray Lockerbie, was between 1847 and 1850. The 1960s saw an immense effort to save the buildings within the district, becoming the first historic district in Indianapolis. Many of the buildings date from 1855 to 1930. James Whitcomb Riley, famed Hoosier poet, lived in the district for over two decades. He was known to give candy to local children on his regular walks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harmony Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

The Harmony Historic District encompasses the first early 19th century settlement of the Harmony Society, in what is now Harmony, Butler County, Pennsylvania, USA. It covers an area two blocks wide, extending north from German Road to Conoquenessing Creek between Liberty and Wood Streets. The area retains a number of buildings dating to the original settlement period, and was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newport Historic District (Rhode Island)</span> Historic district in Rhode Island, United States

The Newport Historic District is a historic district that covers 250 acres in the center of Newport in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1968 due to its extensive and well-preserved assortment of intact colonial buildings dating from the early and mid-18th century. Six of those buildings are themselves NHLs in their own right, including the city's oldest house and the former meeting place of the colonial and state legislatures. Newer and modern buildings coexist with the historic structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan and Mary (Polly) Johnson properties</span> Historic houses in Massachusetts, United States

The Nathan and Mary (Polly) Johnson properties are a National Historic Landmark at 17–19 and 21 Seventh Street in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Originally the building consisted of two structures, one dating to the 1820s and an 1857 house joined with the older one shortly after construction. They have since been restored and now house the New Bedford Historical Society. The two properties are significant for their association with leading members of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts, and as the only surviving residence in New Bedford of Frederick Douglass. Nathan and Polly Johnson were free African-Americans who are known to have sheltered escaped slaves using the Underground Railroad from 1822 on. Both were also successful in local business; Nathan as a caterer and Polly as a confectioner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warsaw Courthouse Square Historic District</span> Historic district in Indiana, United States

The Warsaw Courthouse Square Historic District is a historic district in Warsaw, Indiana that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Its boundaries were increased in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aldie Mill Historic District</span> Historic district in Virginia, United States

Aldie Mill is a water mill in Aldie, Virginia. Built shortly after 1804 to grind grain using the waters of the Little River, it retains much of its original machinery and is one of the best-preserved mills in Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breckinridge Mill</span> United States historic place

Breckinridge Mill, also known as Howell's Mill and Breckinridge Mill Complex, is a historic grist mill complex located near Fincastle, Botetourt County, Virginia. The mill was built about 1822, and is a 3+1⁄2-story, brick structure. The mill was converted to apartments in 1977. Associated with the mill are two contributing wood-frame, late 19th-century sheds. Also associated with the mill is the miller's or Howell house. It was built about 1900, and is a two-story, Queen Anne style frame structure with a T-plan and gabled roof. The mill was built for James Breckinridge (1763-1833) and replaced an earlier mill erected by him in 1804.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pleasant Grove (Halifax, Virginia)</span> United States historic place

Pleasant Grove is a historic home and farm complex and national historic district located near Halifax, Halifax County, Virginia. The district includes 17 contributing buildings, 2 contributing sites, and 2 contributing structures on three farm complexes. They are the Main House Complex, Owen Tenant House Complex, and Ferrell Tenant House Complex. The main house was built in 1888–1890, and is a two-story Victorian style dwelling. Associated with it are the contributing smokehouse, pump house, watering trough, cow barn, granary, two corncribs, three tobacco barns, and a hog pen. The Owen Tenant House was built about 1900 and associated with it are a workshop, pumphouse, hog pen, and chicken house. The Ferrell Tenant House was built about 1940, and associated with it is a log corncrib. Also on the property are the ruins of the Blackstock Tenant House and a second tenant house ruin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meadow Grove Farm</span> United States historic place

Meadow Grove Farm is a historic farm complex and national historic district located at Amissville, Rappahannock County, Virginia. It encompasses 13 contributing buildings and 5 contributing sites. The main house was constructed in four distinct building phases from about 1820 to 1965. The oldest section is a 1 1/2-story log structure, with a two-story Greek Revival style main block added about 1860. A two-story brick addition, built in 1965, replaced a two-story wing added in 1881. In addition to the main house the remaining contributing resources include a tenant house/slave quarters, a schoolhouse, a summer kitchen, a meat house, a machine shed, a blacksmith shop, a barn, a chicken coop, a chicken house, two granaries, and a corn crib; a cemetery, an icehouse ruin, two former sites of the present schoolhouse, and the original site of the log granary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trippett–Glaze–Duncan–Kolb Farm</span> United States historic place

Trippettt–Glaze–Duncan-Kolb Farm is a historic home and farm complex and national historic district located at Washington Township, Gibson County, Indiana. It encompasses seven contributing buildings, three contributing sites, three contributing structures, and two contributing objects. They include the brick I-house, frame granary, wood frame wagon shed, traverse frame barn, three-portal barn, wood frame tenant house, barn and shed, bunker silo, conservation pond, and the site of a ferry landing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Bentel House</span> Historic house in Indiana, United States

George Bentel House is a historic home located at New Harmony, Posey County, Indiana, United States. It was built about 1823, and is a two-story, Harmonist brick dwelling. It has a wood shake gable roof. It is an example of the standardized, mass-produced form of Rappite built dwellings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ludwig Epple House</span> Historic house in Indiana, United States

Ludwig Epple House is a historic home located at New Harmony, Posey County, Indiana. It was built about 1823, and is a two-story, Harmonist frame dwelling. It has a gable roof. It is an example of the standardized, mass-produced form of Rappite built dwellings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mattias Scholle House</span> Historic house in Indiana, United States

Mattias Scholle House is a historic home located at New Harmony, Posey County, Indiana. It was built about 1823, and is a two-story, Harmonist brick dwelling. It has a gable roof. It is an example of the standardized, mass-produced form of Rappite built dwellings.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System – (#66000006)". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ↑ "New Harmony Historic District". National Historic Landmarks Program. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  3. 1 2 New Harmony Historic District boundaries are described in two listings: 660000006 and 00000669
  4. ↑ New Harmony Historic Landmark Nomination: New Harmony NHL District Boundary Increase, pp. 4–5, 21. Retrieved 2012-5-7.
  5. ↑ Ray E. Boomhower, "New Harmony: Home to Indiana's Communal Societies," Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, 14(4): 36–37.
  6. 1 2 3 Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites at New Harmony. Retrieved 2012-5-7.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Donald E. Pitzer and Connie A. Weinzapfel, "Utopia on the Wabash: The History and Preservation of New Harmony" CRM, 9:19. Retrieved 2012-5-9.
  8. 1 2 New Harmony Historic Landmark Nomination: New Harmony NHL District Boundary Increase, p. 24. Retrieved 2012-5-7.
  9. ↑ University of Southern Indiana. Retrieved 2012-5-8.
  10. ↑ New Harmony Historic Landmark Nomination: New Harmony NHL District Boundary Increase, p. 25. Retrieved 2012-5-7.
  11. ↑ Boomhower, p. 37.
  12. ↑ Historic New Harmony, Indiana Retrieved 2012-5-7.
  13. ↑ Hurdis, Frank D. Jr. (May 2002). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: New Harmony Historic District". National Park Service. and Accompanying photos
  14. ↑ The kitchen annex of Community House Number 2 and the Barrett-Gate House are the only Harmonist log structures that survive from the period 1814 to 1819. West Street cabins and barns, moved to New Harmony from a farm in Illinois, are similar to Harmonist structures and were reconstructed "on sites of Harmonist cabins". Historic New Harmony–Log Cabins Retrieved 2012-3-19.
  15. 1 2 New Harmony Historic Landmark Nomination: New Harmony NHL District Boundary Increase, p. 11. Retrieved 2012-5-7.
  16. ↑ Harmonist Cemetery. Retrieved 2012-5-8.
  17. 1 2 New Harmony Historic Landmark Nomination: New Harmony NHL District Boundary Increase, p. 12. Retrieved 2012-5-7.
  18. ↑ New Harmony Historic Landmark Nomination: New Harmony NHL District Boundary Increase, p. 17. Retrieved 2012-5-7. See also Harmonist Labyrinth. Accessed May 8, 2012.
  19. ↑ New Harmony Historic Landmark Nomination: New Harmony NHL District Boundary Increase, p. 19. Retrieved 2012-5-7. See also Community House Number 2. Retrieved 2012-5-8.
  20. ↑ Thrall’s Opera House. Retrieved 2012-5-8.
  21. ↑ New Harmony–Rapp Granary–David Dale Owen Laboratory Retrieved 2012-3-19.
  22. 1 2 New Harmony Historic Landmark Nomination: New Harmony NHL District Boundary Increase, p. 7. Retrieved 2012-5-7.
  23. ↑ New Harmony–Lenz House and Garden Retrieved 2012-3-19.
  24. ↑ New Harmony–Other Harmonist Structures Accessed March 19, 2012.
  25. ↑ New Harmony Historic Landmark Nomination: New Harmony NHL District Boundary Increase, pp. 5, 9, 13, 16. Retrieved 2012-5-7.
  26. ↑ Fauntleroy House. Retrieved 2012-5-7.
  27. ↑ The grave of Thomas Say, a naturalist, conchologist, and "The Father of American Entomology," was buried on the Rapp property in 1843. New Harmony Historic Landmark Nomination: New Harmony NHL District Boundary Increase, pp. 5–7, 11, 13–14, 16, 18. Retrieved 2012-5-7.
  28. ↑ New Harmony Historic Landmark Nomination: New Harmony NHL District Boundary Increase, p. 14. Retrieved 2012-5-7.
  29. ↑ Boomhower, p. 36.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.