Harmony Historic District
A National Historic Landmark
National Register Number: 73002139
Designation Date: May 30, 1973
Nomination Form
Location: Route 68; Harmony Borough, Butler County, Pennsylvania.
Geographic Coordinates: 40.8028N 80.1281W
Statement of Significance:
Harmony was the first home of the Harmony Society, a small group of
German Pietists organized as a communitarian theocracy
under the spiritual control of George Rapp.
It was one of the most successful of America's many utopian communities.
Its high degree of commercialization caused it to play an important
role in the commerce and industry of Western Pennsylvania.
Harmonist manufactures were sold as far away as New Orleans,
and their investments in rails, canals, oil fields, lumber and banks,
provided a great stimulus to the local economy.
In 1804, the Harmony Society was organized and started building
the town of Harmony, Pennsylvania.
In 1814, they sold the land and buildings to Abraham Ziegler
and moved to New Harmony, Indiana.
In 1825, they moved back to Pennsylvania to Economy on the Ohio River,
which is in present Ambridge, Beaver County.
They stayed in Economy until the community was dissolved in 1905.
Links: The Harmony Museum, National Park Service, Wikipedia: The Harmony Society and Harmony, PA
Great House/Warehouse (currently the museum):
Frederick Rapp Haus on N Main St:
Frederick and Christina Weingartner Haus (much modified) on N Main St:
Christian and Elisabeth Waldmann Haus on N Main St:
Langenbacher Haus on S Main St:
The Schmidt Haus on S Main St:
The back of the Grace Church. These two walls were part of the original Harmonist church:
Wagner-Bentel Haus, a duplex built for two sisters and their families on Mercer St:
Ludwig and Anna Schreiber Haus on Wood St:
Dr. Johannes Christoph Muller Haus at Mercer and Wood Sts:
It was built as a home for Austin Pearce in 1856, 42 years after the Harmonists left the area.
Slightly outside the historic district at 230 Mercer Street,
it's shown here because it's a good place to eat and drink.