Posey County collection
Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: S1687
Scope and Contents
The collection contains materials related to Posey County, Indiana, comprising copies of handwritten minutes and constitution of the Society of New Harmony Community of Equality, New Harmony, Indiana (1825-1826); a typed, translated copy of a February 1, 1837 letter from Prince Maximilian von Wied to Charles Lesueur of New Harmony, Indiana regarding a visit to New Harmon y in 1832-1833 (original at Indiana Historical Society); a handwritten letter from W.H. Watkins in New Harmony to A.M. Elliott on December 10, 1855; two copies of an address by J. S. Duss entitled, "George Rapp and His Associations (The Harmony Society)" and a golden sticker from the New Harmony centennial celebration on June 6, 1914; periodical articles about New Harmony (1933, 1959); and a typed letter from John Coudret, General Merchandise, St. Wendells, Indiana to Mr. Schneider advertising Dr. Hess Poultry Pan-a-ce-a in (undated).
Dates
- 1825-1959
Creator
- Wied, Maximilian, Prinz von (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Historical Note
Posey County, Indiana was organized in 1814. It was named for General Thomas Posey who served in the Revolutionary War, and assumed governor of the Indiana Territory, 1813-1816. In 1814, German immigrant George Rapp founded his religious socialist settlement along the Wabash River in Posey County, Indiana. The settlement was referred to as the Harmony Society, consisting of a group who called themselves Harmonists who had relocated from their Pennsylvania settlement of 7,000 acres to a much larger site of more than 20,000 acres. A decade later, in 1825, the Harmonists decided to move back to Pennsylvania, and sold the settlement to Robert Owen for $150,000, which included homes, saw and grain mills, tanneries, and numerous manufactured goods, including beer, wine, whiskey, leather, beef, and pork. Owen, a successful textile industrialist from Scotland, was determined to use the Harmonist settlement to create a utopian community, based on principles of social reform. On February 5, 1826, the community adopted its constitution, The New Harmony Community of Equality. By 1827, Owen’s socialist community failed, and was formally dissolved in 1829.
Sources:
Baker, Ronald L., and Marvin Carmony. Indiana Place Names
Sources:
Baker, Ronald L., and Marvin Carmony. Indiana Place Names
Extent
0.02 Cubic Feet (2 folders)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged by subject.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a records donation from unknown.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2017/06/15 by Linda Gellert. EAD finding aid created 2017/06/15 by Linda Gellert. EAD finding aid revised 2017/06/28 by Brittany Kropf.
- Articles
- By-laws
- Church history
- Church history -- Indiana
- Clippings
- Constitutions
- Correspondence
- Frontier and pioneer life
- Harmony Society of Indiana
- Lesueur, Charles Alexandre, 1778-1846
- Mills and mill-work
- Minutes (Records)
- New Harmony (Ind.)
- Pamphlets
- Periodicals
- Posey County (Ind.)
- Rapp, George, 1757-1847
- Sawmills
- Stickers
- Wied, Maximilian, Prinz von
Creator
- Wied, Maximilian, Prinz von (Person)
- Title
- Posey County collection
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
