Old Economy | |
Location | Beaver County, Pennsylvania, USA |
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Nearest city | Ambridge, Pennsylvania |
Coordinates | 40°35′46.17″N80°13′58.8″W / 40.5961583°N 80.233000°W |
Area | 5 acres (2.0 ha) |
Built | 1824 |
Architect | George Rapp and Frederick Reichert Rapp |
Architectural style | 19th Century German-American |
NRHP reference No. | 66000644 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 [1] |
Designated NHLD | June 23, 1965 [2] |
Economy Historic District | |
Location | Old Economy Village roughly bounded by PA 65, 12th, Merchant, and 16th Sts., Ambridge, Pennsylvania |
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Coordinates | 40°35′46″N80°13′55″W / 40.59611°N 80.23194°W |
Area | 28 acres (11 ha) |
Built | 1825 |
Architect | Harmony Society |
NRHP reference No. | 85001142 [1] |
Added to NRHP | May 21, 1985 |
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.
The village is the last of three settlements established by the Harmony Society in the United States (another in Pennsylvania and one in Indiana). Founded in 1824, it was designated as a National Historic Landmark District in 1966 under the name of "Old Economy." [1]
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, [3] the Harmony Society moved to the United States between 1803 and 1804, initially purchasing 3,000 acres (12 km2) of land in Butler County, Pennsylvania. On February 15, 1805, society leaders, together with about 400 followers, formally organized the Harmony Society, placing all of their goods in common.
The society was founded and led by Johann Georg Rapp (1757–1847) and his adopted son, Frederick (Reichert) Rapp (1775–1834), and lasted for 100 years – roughly from 1805 until 1905. Members of the society were sometimes called Harmonists, Harmonites, or Rappites.
The Harmony Society is best known for its worldly successes, eventually building three successive communities, first at Harmony, Pennsylvania (1804–1814), then New Harmony, Indiana (1814–1824), finally settling in Economy (now Ambridge, Pennsylvania).
The Harmonites named their last town Economy, after the spiritual notion of the Divine Economy. Here, under the business acumen and efficient management of Frederick Rapp, society members enjoyed such prosperity that, by 1829, they dominated the trade and the markets of Pittsburgh and down the Ohio River. Accused of being a monopoly, the society faced pressure to dissolve. At this time, the community was not neglectful of matters pertaining to art and culture. Frederick Rapp purchased and installed a museum, containing fine paintings and many curios and antiquities; they had a deer park, a floral park, and a maze, or labyrinth; the society also had a good orchestra, were fond of music, and gave much attention to its cultivation.
In 1832, the society suffered a serious division. Of 750 members, 250 became alienated through the influence of Bernhard Müller (self-styled Count de Leon), who, with forty followers (also at variance with the authorities in the old country), had come to Economy to affiliate with the society. Rapp and Leon could not agree; a separation and apportionment of the property were therefore effected. This secession of one-third of the society, consisting mostly of the young men and women who did not want to maintain the custom of celibacy, reportedly broke Frederick's heart. He died within two years.
It also resulted in a considerable fracturing of the community. Nevertheless, the society remained prosperous in business investments for many more years to come.
After Frederick Rapp's death, in 1834, the business management passed successively into the hands of George Rapp, who died in 1847 (R. L, Baker and Jacob Henrici, 1847–69; J. Henrici and Jonathan Lenz, 1869–92; J. S. Duss, 1892–1903; Susie C. Duss, 1903–06).
The settlements were economically successful, producing many goods in a clothing factory, a sawmill, a tannery, and from their vineyards and distillery. Society members also produced high quality silk for garments.
The Harmonites were industrious and utilized the latest technologies of the day in their factories. In Economy, the group aided the construction of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, established the Economy Savings Institution and the Economy Brick Works, and operated the Economy Oil Company, Economy Planing Mill, Economy Lumber Company, and eventually donated some land in Beaver Falls for the construction of Geneva College. The society exerted a major influence on the economic development of Western Pennsylvania. But since the group chose to adopt celibacy and the people in the group kept getting older, more work gradually had to be hired out.
The high-water mark of the society's prosperity was at the close of the administration of R. L. Baker in 1868; its wealth at that time being probably $2,000,000. By 1890, however, it was hopelessly in debt, on the verge of bankruptcy, with a depleted membership of aged people. The society was overwhelmed with litigation on the part of would-be heirs. J. S. Duss won the lawsuits and paid the society's indebtedness. The great strain which he had undergone undermining his health, he was forced to resign his trusteeship in 1903. There being but few members left, the remaining land and assets were sold under the leadership of Duss's wife, and the society was formally dissolved in 1906.
In 1916, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania acquired 6 acres (0.024 km2) and 17 buildings of Old Economy, which became the present-day historic site. Other parts of the society's land were acquired by the American Bridge Company to expand the borough of Ambridge- incorporated in 1905 and named after AMerican BRIDGE . Today, much of Ambridge outside of Old Economy Village is a historic district (the Economy Historic District) listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [1]
Johann Georg Rapp (November 1, 1757 – August 7, 1847) was the founder of the religious sect called Harmonists, Harmonites, Rappites, or the Harmony Society.
Born in Iptingen, Duchy of Württemberg, Germany, Rapp became inspired by the philosophies of Jakob Böhme, Philipp Jakob Spener, and Emanuel Swedenborg, among others. In the 1780s, George Rapp began preaching and soon started to gather a group of his own followers. His group officially split with the Lutheran Church in 1785 and was promptly banned from meeting. The persecution that Rapp and his followers experienced caused them to leave Germany and come to the United States in 1803. Rapp was a Pietist, and a number of his beliefs were shared by the Anabaptists, as well as groups such as the Shakers. Rapp's religious beliefs and philosophy were the cement that held his community together both in Germany and in America – a Christian community and commune, which in America organized as the Harmony Society. The Harmony Society built three American towns, became rich, famous, and survived for 100 years – roughly from 1805 until 1905. By 1798, Rapp and his group of followers had already begun to distance themselves from mainstream society. In the Lomersheimer Declaration, written in 1798, Rapp's followers refused to serve in the military or attend Lutheran schools. In 1803, when the government began to persecute Rapp's followers, he decided to move the entire group to the United States. The initial move scattered the followers and reduced Rapp's original group of 12,000 to many fewer persons. In 1804, Rapp was able to secure a large tract of land in Pennsylvania and started his first commune. This first commune, 'Harmonie', (Harmony), Butler County, Pennsylvania, soon grew to a population of about 800, and was highly profitable. At Harmony, the Harmony Society was created and its members contracted to hold all property in common, to submit to spiritual and material leadership by Rapp and associates, and adopted the celibate lifestyle. In 1814, the first town was sold to Mennonites for 10 times the amount originally paid for the land, and the entire commune moved out west to Indiana where their new town was also known as Harmony. Ten years after the move to Indiana the commune moved again, this time it returned to Pennsylvania and named their town 'Ökonomie', Economy. The Indiana settlement was sold to Robert Owen, at which point it was renamed New Harmony, Indiana. George Rapp lived out his remaining days in the town of Economy, Pennsylvania, until August 7, 1847, when he died at the age of 89. The commune ultimately failed because the policy of celibacy prevented new members from within, and the majority of the outside world had no desire to give up so much to live in a commune. The society was formally dissolved in 1906. Today, many of their remaining buildings are preserved and open to visitors. The entire village was designated as a National Historic Landmark District in 1965.
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.
Beaver County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,215. Its county seat is Beaver, and its largest city is Aliquippa. The county is part of the Greater Pittsburgh region of the state.
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.
Ambridge is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. Incorporated in 1905 as a company town by the American Bridge Company, Ambridge is located 16 miles (25 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, along the Ohio River. The population was 6,972 at the 2020 census.
Economy is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,098 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
Freedom is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Ohio River 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 1,496 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Originally founded as a steamboat building town, chief industries later included the production of oil, caskets, and monuments.
Monaca is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States along the Ohio River, 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 5,625 as of the 2020 census. First incorporated as Phillipsburg as the home of the New Philadelphia Society, its name was changed to Monaca in honor of the Native American Monacatootha. Fire clay is found in large quantities in the vicinity, and there is a Stoelzle Glass plant in the town.
Harmony is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 890 at the 2010 census. It is located approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Pittsburgh.
Robert Owen was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the co-operative movement. He strove to improve factory working conditions, promoted experimental socialistic communities, and sought a more collective approach to child-rearing, including government control of education. He gained wealth in the early 1800s from a textile mill at New Lanark, Scotland. Having trained as a draper in Stamford, Lincolnshire he worked in London before relocating aged 18 to Manchester and textile manufacturing. In 1824, he moved to America and put most of his fortune in an experimental socialistic community at New Harmony, Indiana, as a preliminary for his Utopian society. It lasted about two years. Other Owenite communities also failed, and in 1828 Owen returned to London, where he continued to champion the working class, lead in developing co-operatives and the trade union movement, and support child labour legislation and free co-educational schools.
John George Rapp was the founder of the religious sect called the Harmony Society and a number of associated communes.
William Alfred Passavant was a Lutheran minister who brought the Lutheran Deaconess movement to the United States. He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on November 24 with Justus Falckner and Jehu Jones.
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.
Bernhard Müller, known as Count de Leon, was a German Christian mystic and alchemist of uncertain origins.
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.
Eidenau is an unincorporated community in Jackson Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States.
Pennsylvania Route 989 is a 15.10-mile-long (24.30 km) state highway in southeastern Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at PA 65 in Ambridge, and the northern terminus is at PA 68 in Unionville.
The Concord School House is a historic one-room schoolhouse in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is operated today as a museum. It is part of the Colonial Germantown Historic District which was named a National Historic Landmark District in 1965.
Thomas Stedman Whitwell (1784–1840) was an English architect and civil engineer, best known for his collaboration with Robert Owen on an unrealised design for a secular communal utopia at New Harmony, Indiana, USA.
David F. Creighton was an architect, mechanical engineer, and construction manager from Pennsylvania. He designed worker housing in Gary, Indiana that incorporated concrete and terraces in what was termed terraced housing "based on the Philadelphia plan". It was progressive and "homey" and imaginative in its details. About 77 of the houses that he designed in Gary survive.
Elise Mercur, also known as Elise Mercur Wagner, was Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's first female architect. She was raised in a prominent family and educated abroad in France and Germany before completing training as an architect at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Her first major commission, for the design of the Woman's Building for the Cotton States and International Exposition of Atlanta, was secured in 1894, while she was apprenticed to Thomas Boyd. It was the first time a woman had headed an architectural project in the South. After completing a six-year internship, she opened her own practice in 1896, where she focused on designing private homes and public buildings, such as churches, hospitals, schools, and buildings for organizations like the YMCA/YWCA.