George Rapp led his followers from Germany to Pennsylvania in 1804, then to Indiana in 1814. The Harmonists were millennialists who believed Christ's return was imminent. They practiced celibacy, pooled property, and worked with German efficiency to build a thriving community on the frontier. Their town featured brick and frame buildings arranged on a grid, communal dormitories, a church with remarkable acoustics, and agricultural innovations. They planted vineyards, manufactured textiles, and exported goods down the Wabash River. But after a decade without the Second Coming, Rapp decided to move. He sold the entire town - 20,000 acres, all buildings, all improvements - to Robert Owen for $150,000.

Robert Owen was a successful British industrialist who believed that human character was shaped entirely by environment. Create the right environment, he reasoned, and you could create perfect people. He purchased New Harmony as his American laboratory. Owen attracted remarkable people: geologist William Maclure, naturalist Thomas Say, educator Marie Fretageot, and Frances Wright, early feminist and abolitionist. The 'Boatload of Knowledge' - a keelboat carrying scientists and educators - arrived in 1826. But Owen's community lacked farmers and craftsmen who could actually do the work. Conflicts erupted over governance, religion, and daily life. By 1827, Owen had left; the experiment was over.

Both utopias failed, but their legacies endured. The Harmonists' buildings survived, making New Harmony architecturally significant. The Owenites' scientists established the first American school offering equal education to boys and girls, the first infant school, and the first trade school. William Maclure founded the first American geological survey. Thomas Say's entomological and conchological work was foundational. Frances Wright went on to challenge slavery, religion, and gender norms. The utopian experiment failed; the individuals it gathered succeeded elsewhere.

New Harmony reinvented itself in the 20th century as a heritage destination and intellectual retreat. Texas oil heiress Jane Blaffer Owen (no relation to Robert) married into the Owen-Maclure legacy and spent decades restoring the town, commissioning new architecture from Philip Johnson and Richard Meier, and establishing it as a center for conferences and contemplation. The Roofless Church, Meier's Atheneum visitor center, and the restored historic buildings create a unique architectural landscape. New Harmony today cultivates the spirit of utopian aspiration without promising utopia.

New Harmony is located in Posey County, southwestern Indiana, on the Wabash River about 25 miles north of Evansville. Historic New Harmony, Inc. operates tours of Harmonist and Owenite buildings. The Atheneum visitor center (Richard Meier, 1979) provides orientation. The Roofless Church (Philip Johnson, 1960) is a striking open-air sanctuary. The Labyrinth (reconstructed from Harmonist design) invites contemplation. Walking tours explore the historic grid. The New Harmony Inn provides lodging; restaurants are limited. The town is small and quiet - a meditation on utopian failure and architectural beauty. Evansville Regional Airport (EVV) is the nearest commercial airport. Allow at least half a day.