InO-n 
 
 Indiana— New 
 Harmony Mem 
 orial Commis- 
 sion^ 
 The New Har-, 
 
 mony memorial 
 movement. om] 
 
IIUNOIS HISTORICAL SURVEY 
 
THE 
 
 NEW HARMONY 
 
 MEMORIAL MOVEMENT 
 
 A Brief Review of Its Origin, 
 Aims, and Progress 
 
 Issued by 
 
 THE NEW HARMONY MEMORIAL 
 COMMISSION 
 
 MAY, 1942 
 
ROSTER OF THE COMMISSION 
 
 MRS. FREDERICK G. BALZ CARL H. MULLEN 
 
 CLIFTON E. COUCH CHARLES M. DAWSC 
 
 MRS. EDMUND BURKE BALL CLEMENT T. MALA* 
 
 MISS HELEN ELLIOTT HERMAN B WELLS 
 
 CYRUS L. DYER ROSS F. LOCKRIDGE 
 
 OFFICERS AND STAFF 
 
 MRS. FREDERICK G. BALZ, President 
 
 CLIFTON E. COUCH, Vice-President 
 
 MISS HELEN ELLIOTT, Secretary and Treasurer 
 
 ROSS F. LOCKRIDGE, Director 
 
 MARJORIE E. PERRY, Office Secretary 
 

 /j^u 
 
 Happy Society! An example to the rest of mankind 
 Df social concord and harmonious liberty. 
 The true principles of religion and the prudent regula- 
 tions of industry and economy by their united influ- 
 ence produce a heaven upon earth— a true Harmony. 
 A Noble Asylum! where brethren live together in 
 unity and love, and form upon earth a Kingdom ot 
 God. 
 
 We endure and suffer, labor and toil, sow and reap, 
 with and for each other. 
 
 The golden treasure of this world to those who know 
 how to use it, is Friendship. 
 
 — The Harmony Society 
 
 A new empire of peace and good will to men. 
 The New Moral World is an organization to rationally 
 educate and employ all, through a new organization of 
 society, which will give a new existence to man by 
 surrounding him with superior circumstances only. 
 Our object like that of all sentient beings is happi- 
 ness. We hold it to be self evident that man is uni- 
 formly actuated by a desire for happiness. 
 We seek intelligence as we seek happiness. 
 If we cannot reconcile all opinions, let us strive to unite 
 all hearts. 
 
 — Community of Equality 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Paee 
 
 Foreword 5 
 
 I. Establishing the Memorial ... 9 
 
 II. Organisation . 11 
 
 III. Material Acquisition and 
 
 Restoration 12 
 
 Educational Programs 14 
 
 Institutional Activities 20 
 
 General Promotion 24 
 
 Publications and General Publicity . 26 
 Cooperation of Higher Institutions 
 
 of Learning 29 
 
 IX. Memorializing the Wabash River . 33 
 
 X. Memorial Gifts 34 
 
 XI. Cooperation with Department of 
 
 Conservation 36 
 
 Master Memorial Plan 38 
 
 Evolution of Master Plan .... 46 
 
 Future Extension 46 
 
 Conclusion 48 
 
 Addendum 48 
 
 m 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://archive.org/details/newharmonymemoriOOnewh 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 The New Harmony Memorial is a shrine to 
 idealism — the memorialization of spiritual values 
 and social ideals of our historic heritage that 
 stand the test of time. It is based upon the 
 fact that the little town of New Harmony was 
 the stage of two world-famed experiments in 
 community socialization in the early days of 
 Indiana as a Territory and a new State. The first 
 was a religious socialization; the second, an edu- 
 cational socialization. The religious socialization 
 was conducted by the Harmony Society, better 
 known as the Rappites, under the leadership of 
 Father George Rapp. The educational socializa- 
 tion was promulgated as a Community of 
 Equality founded by Robert Owen. 
 
 The town of Harmonie on the Wabash was 
 built by the Harmony Society in 1814-15 and 
 maintained for ten years as an annex to the 
 Kingdom of Heaven upon earth. The Harmon- 
 ists, or Rappites, exemplified genuine harmony 
 in every detail of individual and community life. 
 They observed faithfully the motto, "We endure 
 and suffer, labor and toil, sow and reap, with 
 and for each other/ 1 thus demonstrating their 
 belief that "the true principles of religion and 
 the prudent regulations of industry and econ- 
 omy, by their united influence, produce a 
 heaven upon earth — a true Harmony." 
 
 Devoting themselves entirely to work and 
 worship, the Rappites exhibited unparalleled 
 thrift, exemplary obedience to law, and a spirit 
 of reverence worthy of memorialization for all 
 time. In ten years, they made a wilderness of the 
 Wabash bloom like a well cultivated garden and 
 established the town of Harmonie substantially 
 
 [5] 
 
[6] 
 
 as it stands today — a well-prepared plant for the 
 new socialisation that succeeded them. 
 
 This entire estate of Harmonie was purchased 
 in 1825 by Robert Owen, a Scotch industrial 
 reformer and social philosopher, born m Wales, 
 who named it New Harmony and made of it the 
 stage of a Utopian adventure in happiness, based 
 upon the principles of a new moral world. The 
 Rappites left in a body and the town was filled 
 with a heterogeneous group of scientists, ideal- 
 ists, dreamers, and adventurers from all parts of 
 America and Europe, who responded to Robert 
 Owen's invitation to the "industrious and well- 
 disposed of all nations and creeds. 11 They were 
 formed into a Community of Equality under a 
 constitution that established "liberty, equality, 
 and fraternity in downright earnest. 11 
 
 It was an idealistic experiment in educational 
 socialization, based upon the belief that the hap- 
 piness and welfare of all would be secured 
 through superior environment for all. A system 
 of educational processes and social practices was 
 inaugurated under brilliant leadership, mobiliz- 
 ing some of the highest scientific, literary, and 
 artistic talent of the times. Although the Com- 
 munity of Equality collapsed economically in 
 1828, its idealism survived. The town of New 
 Harmony enjoyed a brilliant Afterglow of many 
 decades, which resulted in concreting some of 
 the outstanding principles of Owen's new moral 
 world into institutional forms that prevail in all 
 enlightened countries today. 
 
 The Memorial is giving equal emphasis to the 
 spiritual concepts of the Rappites and the social 
 ideals of the Owenites. It is to be remembered 
 that these two world-famed experiments were 
 conducted on exactly the same spot in direct 
 succession by two entirely different groups of 
 people. They were fundamentally different in 
 
[7] 
 
 many respects but in one essential factor, they 
 are identical in historic significance. Both came 
 from the old world to the new in order to enjoy 
 the American way of life. Both exemplified the 
 opportunity that is Americanism, as guaranteed 
 in our Bill of Rights. 
 
 It was because the Harmony Society (Rap- 
 pites) could not worship and work as conscience 
 dictated that they left Europe after suffering 
 both religious and political persecution in old 
 Wurttemberg. They left Germany in order to 
 get away from the things which we are fighting 
 against now and they came first to Pennsylvania 
 and then to the banks of the Wabash in order to 
 enjoy the things we are fighting for now. They 
 assumed overwhelming risks but they assumed 
 them willingly for the sake of conscience and 
 freedom. Father Rapp said: "We shall live on 
 roots if necessary for a while in order to live and 
 worship as we wish in a new land." After they 
 had settled here he declared: Lk I will never go 
 back to Germany — back to the old way of life 
 as it has to be lived in Europe. 11 
 
 The Owenites emphasized this same principle 
 even more strongly. Although Robert Owen had 
 not suffered political persecution in England and 
 Scotland, yet he recognised clearly that he could 
 not carry forward his idealistic purposes amidst 
 old world entanglements and under age old re- 
 strictions. The Owen party on shipboard en 
 route to New Harmony in 1825 came singing 
 their own new song of freedom: 
 
 Land of the West we fly to thee; 
 Sick of the old world's sophistry; 
 
 Home of the brave: soil of the free- 
 Hu£3a! She rises o'er the sea. 
 
[8] 
 
 Robert Owen's conception of a Community 
 of Equality could not have been projected ad- 
 vantageously anywhere in the old world. The 
 fact that he came here was a continental recog- 
 nition of the American way of living and the 
 opportunities that it afforded. He had to come to 
 a land, as he said, where "thought is free." 
 
 Both the Rappites and the Owenites joined 
 heartily in their support of the democratic gov- 
 ernment they found here. The Rappites furn- 
 ished, in the person of Frederick Rapp, a very 
 able member of the constitutional convention 
 that wrote Indiana's first constitution in June 
 1816. They made themselves full fledged citizens 
 and loyal Hoosiers both in the Territory and the 
 new State of Indiana. 
 
 The Owenites took an even more advanced 
 step than the Rappites toward promoting all 
 our free institutions — free speech, free press, 
 freedom of worship, etc. In fact, they made an 
 objective demonstration of the "pursuit of hap- 
 piness 11 as an "unalienable right." 
 
 It is significant that New Harmony also furn- 
 ished a leading member — if not indeed the lead- 
 ing member — of the second constitutional con- 
 vention of Indiana, in the person of Robert Dale 
 Owen, the "incorrigible idealist," who helped 
 write the Indiana Constitution of 1850, under 
 which we now live. He is recognised as the 
 political father of our free public school system 
 and an outstanding champion of equal rights for 
 women. 
 
 Some original buildings both of the Rappites 
 and the Owenites remain in fair condition for 
 permanent preservation. Others that have passed 
 away can be restored; and programs and prac- 
 tices for which they were used, or which they 
 symbolise, can be reinaugurated in institutional 
 ways. Thus New Harmony will be a shrine 
 
[9] 
 
 where imperishable ideals may be visualized in 
 their own proper setting. 
 
 The Memorial is a commemoration of the 
 American way of life at a timely juncture. In a 
 world darkened by general war, Indiana is hold- 
 ing aloft the torchlight of pure American ideal- 
 i sm — enshrining the vision that has made Amer- 
 ica a sanctuary of freedom. We are memorial- 
 ising New Harmony as the Town of the Fear- 
 less. Such, in brief, is the historic background 
 of the New Harmony Memorial Movement. 
 
 I. ESTABLISHING THE MEMORIAL 
 
 The Indiana Legislature of 1937 by joint reso- 
 lution created a voluntary commission of seven 
 members to take official charge of the New 
 Harmony Memorial Movement and to "make 
 such surveys, estimates, and plans as may be 
 necessary to provide for the State to take over 
 and assume jurisdiction of certain units and areas 
 in and about the town of New Harmony for per- 
 manent Memorial purposes." The members of 
 the commission were appointed by Governor 
 Townsend, as directed by the resolution, on rep- 
 resentative bases, as follows: Mrs. Frederick G. 
 BaU, representing the Indiana Federation of 
 Clubs; Carl H. Mullen, representing the Indiana 
 Federation of Labor; Mrs. Lewis Taylor, repre- 
 senting the Indiana Farm Bureau; Helen Elliott 
 and Ray E. Clark, representing the town of New 
 Harmony; Mrs. Edmund Burke Ball and Ross 
 F. Lockridge, representing the State at large. 
 
 During the two years from 1937 to 1939, the 
 Commission diligently 'conducted surveys and 
 programs and prepared plans in keeping with 
 the provisions of the joint resolution. It spon- 
 sored two elaborate annual Golden Rain Tree 
 Festivals in New Harmony, from the first of 
 
I.l(i 
 
 which a colored movie film was made by Cap- 
 tain J. Frank Hubbard of Muncie and presented 
 to the Commission by Mrs. Ball. Pilgrimage re- 
 citals were directed, state wide programs con- 
 ducted, and numerous newspaper and magazine 
 articles were published for the purpose of culti- 
 vating public interest. Gifts were solicited and 
 options taken upon some contemplated Me- 
 morial units. 
 
 From all of this, a plan of State memorializa- 
 tion was proposed to the Legislature of 1939. 
 That Legislature, by an almost unanimous vote 
 in both houses, passed an act (Chapter 13 5, Acts 
 of Indiana General Assembly 1939, pages 659- 
 670) embracing the main features of this plan. 
 It created an official Commission of ten mem- 
 bers — seven appointive on the same representa- 
 tive bases provided in the joint resolution of 
 1937, with the Lieutenant Governor, the State 
 Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the 
 President of Indiana University, as ex-officio 
 members. It specified the powers and duties of 
 the Commission, created the office of director, 
 and fixed a levy of one mill for four years — 
 1940-1941-1942-1943— to establish the Memorial. 
 The Commission was authorized to purchase 
 buildings and grounds, to restore, repair, and im- 
 prove them — "together with institutional prac- 
 tices and programs connected therewith;" and 
 to restore and erect other structures or features 
 that have passed away, such as the Rappite 
 Labyrinth and the Owenite Boatload of Knowl- 
 edge. It was also authorized to issue such publi- 
 cations as might be found feasible in promulgat- 
 ing the idealistic principles involved in the his- 
 toric memorialization of the spiritual values re- 
 flected in the history of New Harmony. 
 
II. ORGANIZATION 
 
 Governor Townsend reappointed the seven 
 members of the voluntary Commission to the 
 New Harmony Memorial Commission, as di- 
 rected by the Legislative Act, excepting that Ray 
 E. Clark, who was rendered ineligible as a 
 dealer in building supplies, was succeeded by 
 Clifton E. Couch of New Harmony. The three 
 ex officio members were Lieutenant Governor 
 Henry F. Schricker; Floyd I. McMurray, State 
 Superintendent of Public Instruction; and Her- 
 man B Wells, President of Indiana University. 
 The Commission was duly organised on April 
 1, 1939, and officers were chosen as designated 
 in the roster. Resulting from the election of 
 1940, Mr. Schricker was automatically succeeded 
 on the Commission by Lieutenant Governor 
 Charles M. Dawson and Superintendent Mc- 
 Murray by Dr. Clement T. Malan. Upon the 
 resignation of Mrs. Lewis Taylor, Mr. Cyrus L. 
 Dyer of Princeton, Educational Director of the 
 Indiana Farm Bureau, was appointed to succeed 
 her. 
 
 Administrative headquarters were established 
 in New Harmony as a post of duty for the di- 
 rector with the Indiana University Foundation 
 also as an official station. Under the supervision 
 of the State Budget Committee, according to 
 State accounting and tax accumulation, plans 
 were set in progress for the acquisition of the 
 main prospective Memorial units — the Tavern 
 (No. 3), Rappite Community House No. 2, the 
 Opera House (No. 4 — Garrett's Garage), the 
 Kilbinger Home (annex to No. 2), the Rappite 
 Fort Granary, Rapp Maclure Place (Corbin 
 House and Say Tomb), and the Owen Labora- 
 tory Home. Steps were taken for the gradual 
 purchase and restoration of these units accord- 
 
 [in 
 
 o. 
 
 Of 
 
[12] 
 
 ing to appraisals made by a committee of five 
 representative business men of New Harmony. 
 Options were procured upon all of these units, 
 excepting the last three, according to appraisals; 
 and negotiations were opened for the transfer 
 of the Old Fauntleroy Home by gift of the 
 Indiana Federation of Clubs to the State as a 
 fully equipped unit. A series of programs of an 
 institutional Memorial nature was launched and 
 a system of statewide promotional publicity was 
 inaugurated. 
 
 III. MATERIAL ACQUISITION 
 AND RESTORATION 
 
 Up to this time (May, 1942), progress has 
 been made in material restoration, as follows: 
 
 ADMINISTRATION BUILDING— The Old 
 
 Chadwick-Fregateot Home has been accepted by 
 the State and is fully equipped as the office and 
 administration building. 
 
 THE TAVERN— (Rapp Community House 
 No. 3) — Has been purchased by the Commis' 
 sion. It was kept open for a while as a rooming 
 house to accommodate crowded conditions in 
 New Harmony, and has been used occasionally 
 as a special dormitory for visiting school groups, 
 though closed for tavern purposes while bids 
 and contracts are under consideration for its 
 complete restoration. As a utilitarian unit of the 
 Memorial, this is the most expensive of all the 
 proposed restorations and has been unavoidably 
 delayed because of the high cost of labor and 
 building material and the slow accumulation of 
 Memorial funds. All the furniture of the Tavern 
 was also purchased for use in a permanent school 
 dormitory to be established in Community House 
 No. 2. 
 
[13] 
 
 THE OLD FAUNTLEROY HOME— Has 
 
 been deeded to the State by the Indiana Federa- 
 tion of Clubs and is now operated by the Com- 
 mission with a State hostess in charge. — Admis- 
 sion 25^ and 10^. 
 
 THE LABYRINTH— The Rappite Labyrinth 
 has been restored as the Labyrinth of New 
 Harmony. All growing things connected with 
 it — shrubs, flowers, and trees — were planted in 
 October 1939. The inner temple was completed 
 in August, 1941. A semi-circular fence may be 
 built around the front, and a gate and turnstile 
 installed. Up to this time, admission is free. 
 
 JUNE BARRETT PARK (Historic Roadside- 
 Riverside Park) — In connection with the Indi- 
 ana State Highway Commission, this site of two 
 acres at the old ferry landing on the Wabash 
 River has been landscaped and is being main- 
 tained by the Highway Commission as a place 
 for recreation and public meetings in harmony 
 with Memorial purposes. Historically, it is the 
 port of the Boatload of Knowledge being the 
 regular port of New Harmony for several gener- 
 ations. The original crossing and landing place 
 was some rods farther up the stream. 
 
 COMMUNITY HOUSE NO. 2— This build- 
 ing has been purchased and taken in charge by 
 the Commission. It is being operated as a com- 
 munity service building with special regard to 
 its historic character as the recreation hall, school 
 house, and general purpose building of the 
 Owenite regime. It furnishes quarters for the 
 New Harmony Conservation Club, Boy Scouts, 
 -Girl Scouts, Tri Kappa Society, Daughters of 
 the American Revolution, the Woman's Library 
 Club, Red Cross, Home Economics Clubs, Triple 
 A, Farm Bureau, Rural Youth Clubs, and other 
 
[14] 
 
 miscellaneous groups. It has also been made 
 headquarters for meetings, rehearsals, and 
 dances of the Terpsichorean Society of Evans- 
 ville College. An experienced hostess conducts 
 tourists through the building. — Admission 10c. 
 
 THE RAPPITE CEMETERY— By judgment 
 of the Circuit Court of Posey County in July, 
 1941, upon action brought by the Attorney 
 General of Indiana representing the New Har- 
 mony Memorial Commission, this historic old 
 cemetery of two and a half acres has been taken 
 over by the State and is now in charge of the 
 Commission as a Memorial unit. It is being land- 
 scaped in harmony with its historic character 
 and is made a stage for programs of a religious, 
 historical, and scientific nature, including Sun- 
 day afternoon religious ceremonies, astronomi- 
 cal observations, and Boy Scout and Girl Scout 
 camp-fires for the study of Indian lore on the 
 site of the Indian burial mounds within the 
 cemetery. 
 
 IV. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS 
 
 Section 5 of the Memorial Act contains the 
 following provisions, authorising and defining 
 the work of educational promotion. 
 
 It shall be the duty of the director of the 
 commission, by and with the approval of the 
 commission, to institute programs and proj- 
 ects of an educational, recreational, patri- 
 otic, and cultural nature such as may be 
 found necessary and feasible to restore the 
 working system of the "Adventure in Hap- 
 piness 11 of Robert Owen's "New Moral 
 World, 11 such as: forums, lyceums, balls, 
 festivals, and public astronomical observa- 
 tions; shell hunts on the river, periodically 
 
[15] 
 
 conducted in memory of Thomas Say, the 
 master conchologist, and his charming wife, 
 Lucy Sistaire; geological expeditions of a 
 similar nature including the gradual de- 
 velopment of a great geological museum in 
 memory of William Maclure, the Father of 
 American Geology, and of David Dale 
 Owen, who made New Harmony the main 
 geological headquarters of the United 
 States; scientific, literary, historical, and 
 philosophical institutes in memory of Rob- 
 ert Owen and his illustrious sons, Robert 
 Dale Owen and Richard Owen, and other 
 eminent leaders of Owenite days; Harvest 
 Home Festivals and music feasts of the 
 Rappites; and every form of entertainment 
 and edification that characterised any phase 
 of the Owenite "Adventure in Happiness. 11 
 Arrangements may be made with one or 
 more higher institutions of learning in Indi- 
 ana or with individual members of faculties 
 thereof for the most economical and effec- 
 tive promotion of the uses and purposes of 
 this act; and the most favorable working 
 relations shall be cultivated at all times with 
 public and parochial schools of Indiana 
 especially in the conduct of pilgrimage pro- 
 grams and all forms of historical site recitals 
 in New Harmony. Special emphasis may be 
 laid upon classical music and cultural danc- 
 ing and expert instructors may be employed, 
 if necessary, to form and maintain thor- 
 oughly trained groups and special organisa- 
 tions for these purposes. 
 
 In accordance with these provisions, programs 
 )f an institutional nature have been inaugurated 
 is follows: 
 
[16] 
 
 ANNUAL POSEY COUNTY EDUCA- 
 TIONAL DAY— Has been established as a 
 regular Memorial feature in New Harmony, and 
 is observed every spring shortly before the close 
 of school. The high schools of Posey County 
 participate in musical, marching and speaking 
 programs, demonstrating the educational spirit 
 of the Memorial Movement and the prestige 
 enjoyed in that field by this county of the 
 "Hoosier Pocket. 11 
 
 THE SAY-SISTAIRE SHELL HUNT DAY 
 
 — Has been instituted and conducted as an an- 
 nual day— May 12, 1939, May 14, 1940, and 
 October 1, 1941. High schools within a radius 
 of 130 miles sent representative delegations of 
 senior students — an equal number of boys and 
 girls under teacher supervision. The scientific 
 features of the day were directed by the Zoologi- 
 cal Department of Indiana University under 
 direct charge of Dr. Fernandus Payne, the head 
 of the Department, or of one of his faculty 
 members. 
 
 The students were taken in supervised groups 
 to convenient sandbars along the Wabash, where 
 they hunted shells, as Thomas Say and his 
 charming wife, Lucy Sistaire Say, hunted shells 
 in the same places during the halcyon days of the 
 Owen Community of Equality, for the prepara- 
 tion of Say's masterpiece, The American Con- 
 chology. The shells were assembled and dem- 
 onstrations were made at the home and tomb 
 of Thomas Say. Brief exercises were conducted 
 at other Memorial sites. 
 
 State Superintendent Clement T. Malan and 
 Hugh Barnhart, Director of the Department of 
 Conservation, with several members of the Com- 
 mission and staff, assisted in the exercises on 
 October 9, 1941. 
 
[17] 
 
 THE THOMAS SAY ENTOMOLOGICAL 
 FIELD DAY — Has been instituted and was con- 
 ducted on October 10, 1939, October 14, 1940, 
 and May 9, 1941. Representative school dele- 
 gations attended as in the SaySistaire Shell 
 Hunt. The scientific phases of two of those pre 
 grams were in charge of the Zoological Depart' 
 ment of Indiana University with Dr. A. C. 
 Kinsey as. instructor. One of them was under 
 the supervision of Dr. William P. Allen of the 
 Zoological Department of Indiana State Teach' 
 ers College. The State Division of Entomology, 
 represented by Dr. Frank N. Wallace, State 
 Entomologist, also assists in the observance of 
 this annual Entomological Day and takes pk' 
 tures for the Conservation slides. A hunt is 
 made for bugs and butterflies, entomological 
 demonstrations are made, and site exercises con' 
 ducted similar to the Shell Hunt in recognition 
 of the researches of Thomas Say along the 
 wooded glades of the Wabash for his American 
 Entomology. 
 
 Thus both of these annual days commemorate 
 Thomas Say and his work in New Harmony, as 
 Father of American Zoology. They offer a round 
 of purposeful memorial activities of an educa- 
 tional nature that reflect faithfully the fairest 
 traditions of the Owenite Adventure in Happi- 
 ness both in science and romance. The New 
 Harmony High School students and teachers act 
 as hosts and take the lead in these educational 
 Memorial days. 
 
 SCHOOL PILGRIMAGES — Miscellaneous 
 school groups, under teacher direction, from 
 different parts of Indiana, as far as Fort Wayne, 
 and some from Illinois, are received and directed 
 in all day programs on the main Memorial sites, 
 throughout the fall and spring. By sponsorship 
 
[18] 
 
 of Indiana State Teachers College, cooperating 
 with the Commission, a standardized project of 
 Guidance and Testing for the benefit of these 
 school pilgrimages is being worked out through 
 experimental research in direct charge of Dr. 
 John R. Shannon of the Department of Educa- 
 tion of the Teachers College. All visiting school 
 groups are treated to a free ride on the old ferry. 
 These are very popular and help to memorialize 
 the Wabash. 
 
 Dr. Shannon made his initial report upon 
 this project in a comprehensive article of twelve 
 pages in the September (1941) issue of the 
 Teachers College Journal of Terre Haute. 
 
 LABYRINTHINE GAMES AND DANCES 
 — Under the guidance of the Department of 
 Physical Education of Indiana University in 
 direct charge of Professor George E. Schlafer, 
 some rhythmical games and dances, based upon 
 the mythological conception of the Crane Dance 
 fabricated on the Isle of Delos by the Greek 
 hero Theseus and his companions on his return 
 from slaying the Minotaur in the Cretan Laby- 
 rinth, have been prepared and are being intro- 
 duced in the schools of Indiana for performance 
 on the spacious foreground of the Labyrinth by 
 school pilgrimage groups that visit New Har- 
 mony. The New Harmony High School is 
 establishing the pattern for these rhythmical 
 games and for all other purposeful activities of 
 visiting schools. This will gradually evolve into 
 significant forms of simple pageantry. 
 
 OLD FAUNTLEROY HOME RECITALS 
 — An historical site recital based upon the his- 
 toric associations of the Old Fauntleroy Home 
 has been prepared by the Commission, and is 
 being used by the schools of New Harmony and 
 visiting school groups for programs on the lawn 
 
[19] 
 
 of the Old Fauntleroy Home. This form of 
 student participation in historic site recitals "on 
 the spot" is being extended to other Memorial 
 sites. It is an objective method of humanizing 
 history by cultivating historic consciousness 
 through direct contact and expression. 
 
 ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS— In 
 
 keeping with a suggestion of the Memorial Act, 
 a series of astronomical observations has been 
 conducted from the Indian mounds in the Old 
 Rappite Cemetery under the auspices of the De- 
 partment of Astronomy of Indiana University. 
 
 On July 16, 1941, Professor Frank H. Ed- 
 mondson gave a public study of the Milky Way 
 with a large telescope. There was also an Indian 
 campfire program in charge of the Rappite 
 Troop of Boy Scouts. Appropriate songs were 
 rendered by the Grace Golden Music Guild and 
 by a quartet from the colored CCC Camp of 
 Wadesville. 
 
 A similar program was arranged for October 
 30, 1941, in charge of Dr. W. A. Cogshall, with 
 accompanying exercises by the Girl Scouts of 
 New Harmony. The rain made it impossible to 
 hold an outdoor meeting in the cemetery, but 
 Dr. Cogshall gave a lantern slide demonstration 
 in the Sun Dial Room of Old No. 2 — an illus- 
 trated lecture upon the Moon and the planets, 
 Mars and Saturn. The Girl Scouts conducted a 
 ceremony around the old fireplace. 
 
 Such programs, in addition to their informative 
 character, symbolize the lofty aspirations of the 
 Owen scientific regime, as well as the simple 
 faith of the aborigines, who were buried there in 
 full expectation that they would find their 
 Happy Hunting Ground beyond the Milky 
 Way. 
 
 Scientific demonstrations are especially appro- 
 priate to these Indian mounds where scientists 
 
[20] 
 
 of the Owenite School of Industry made the 
 first archaeological excavations in the Middle 
 West. The star-gating also memorialises the 
 fact that Robert Henry Fauntleroy gave astron- 
 omical lectures occasionally in that vicinity dur- 
 ing the golden afterglow of the Owenite regime. 
 His residence, the Old Fauntleroy Home, ad- 
 joins the cemetery. 
 
 V. INSTITUTIONAL ACTIVITIES 
 
 Section 3 of the Memorial Act makes it the 
 duty of the director 
 
 "to initiate by and with the approval and 
 support of the Commission such plans and 
 projects as shall memorialize substantially 
 the outstanding ideals and customs pro- 
 mulgated by the Rappites and Owenites in 
 New Harmony in such manner as shall re- 
 flect those great historic institutions most 
 faithfully and bring the fullest possible 
 measure of inspiration and benefit from the 
 same to modern generations. 11 
 
 The following activities of a permanent nature 
 have been initiated: 
 
 THE RAPPITE KINGDOM OF FLOW- 
 ERS — Has been reinaugurated by the observ- 
 ance of an annual Flower Day — May 6, 1939, 
 May 7, 1940, and May 15, 1941. Those days 
 were devoted to flower planting, flower ex- 
 change and flower programs under the sponsor- 
 ship of the Horticultural Department of Purdue 
 University, with Prof. Roy B. Hull in charge. 
 Flower seeds were furnished by the Commission. 
 This program looks toward universal flower cul- 
 ture in New Harmony as practiced by the Rap- 
 pites, symbolical of their faith in the early com- 
 ing of the Millennium. This project is in direct 
 
[21} 
 
 charge of the Conservation Club of New Har- 
 mony with the Garden Clubs of Indiana as 
 general sponsors. 
 
 In this connection, a modest Memorial garden 
 is being cultivated on the lot of Old No. 2, su- 
 pervised by a committee representing the Con- 
 servation Club and the Woman's Library Club 
 of New Harmony, under the auspices of the 
 Memorial Commission. 
 
 GOLDEN RAIN TREE FESTIVAL— Each 
 year in June the Golden Rain Tree Festival is 
 observed in various forms. In 1941, the period 
 from June 14 to June 22 was set apart by the 
 Commission as Golden Rain Tree pilgrimage 
 days in New Harmony, in particular correlation 
 with women's club pilgrimages. A regular daily 
 schedule of programs was carried out under the 
 auspices of the New Harmony Memorial Com- 
 mission for June 15, 16, 17 and 18, as follows: 
 2:00 P.M.— Color Film of the Pageant of New 
 
 Harmony in the Sun Dial Room of Old No. 2. 
 3 :00 P.'M. — Historic Site Recital on the lawn of 
 
 the Old Fauntleroy Home. 
 4:00 P.M. — Brief exercise at the Labyrinth. 
 Special songs were rendered at each of these 
 
 programs by the Grace Golden Music Guild 
 
 of New Harmony. 
 
 The Tree of Golden Rain, native to China, 
 and known locally as the Gate Tree, is an Owen- 
 ite institution. It was introduced in New Har- 
 mony by William Maclure and Thomas Say in 
 1827. 
 
 THE THESPIAN SOCIETY— Has been re- 
 organized and restored and is already giving 
 stage plays of the character that were popular 
 in Owenite days. It is also producing a series of 
 correlated historical radio recitals, under the 
 auspices of the Memorial Commission. It is con- 
 
[22] 
 
 templated that some of these recitals will be re' 
 corded and some of the plays filmed. The Thes- 
 pian Society was founded by William Owen in 
 1827. Old No. 4, known as Union Hall, the 
 Opera House of the Owenites, was its last home. 
 
 POSEY COUNTY MINISTERIAL ME- 
 MORIAL AUXILIARY— For the purpose of 
 making the memorialisation of the reverence and 
 mysticism of the Harmony Society a regular and 
 permanent feature of the Memorial Movement, 
 a voluntary association of all ministers, who live 
 or preach in Posey County, has been formed. It 
 is sponsoring the conduct of one Sunday after- 
 noon service each month throughout the tourist 
 season alternately in the Rappite Cemetery, be- 
 fore the Millennial Arch on the church ground, 
 and at the Labyrinth. Beginning in 1941, such 
 services were held in the Cemetery on August 
 10, before the Millennial Arch on September 14, 
 and at the Labyrinth on October 12. 
 
 AUXILIARY INSTITUTES — A series of 
 eighteen afternoon institutes have been con- 
 ducted by the Commission on historic sites in 
 New Harmony for the Posey County Women's 
 Auxiliary. The program for each institute 
 covered the historic associations of the site upon 
 which it was held. Synopses of the subject mat- 
 ter presented in the institutes were prepared and 
 distributed among the members. 
 
 A special series of nine institutes has been 
 conducted during February, March, April and 
 May, 1942, covering some of the main com- 
 munal experiments in America, such as the 
 Shakers, Icarians, Amanites, Zoarites, Perfec- 
 tionists, Jansonists, Brook Farm, etc., by com- 
 parison and contrast with the Harmony Society 
 and the Owenite Community of Equality. These 
 
[23] 
 
 institutes were held m the Sun Dial Room of 
 Old No. 2. 
 
 An elaborate analytical ehart was developed 
 in the course of these insitutes for permanent 
 exhibit on the wall of the Sun Dial Room. 
 
 WOMENS STATE TAVERN COMMIT- 
 TEE— Through the leadership of Mrs. Frederick 
 G. Bah and Mrs. Edmund Burke Ball, the Com- 
 mission has formed a large voluntary association 
 of representative women in all parts of the State 
 to select distinctive antique furnishings for 
 equipping the Tavern as a typical hostelry of the 
 period of the first quarter of the 19th century. 
 It has been functioning regularly, collecting 
 and receiving many articles of antique furniture 
 for the Tavern, including some cash donations. 
 Some of this furniture may be used in other 
 Memorial units. A special assembly of this com- 
 mittee was held in New Harmony at a formal 
 luncheon given by Mrs. Ball and Mrs. BaU, 
 June 18, 1941. 
 
 HARVEST HOME FESTIVAL — For the 
 
 purpose of cultivating appreciation of the Har- 
 monious Spirit (Harmonische-Geist) of the 
 founders of Harmonie, the observance of their 
 annual Harvest Home Festival will be made an 
 institutional Memorial feature. Plans are in 
 progress in correlation with the Indiana Farm 
 Bureau, as an auxiliary of the New Harmony 
 Memorial Commission, to establish this institu- 
 tion in August 1942, as an annual day of feast- 
 ing and music after the manner in which that 
 festive occasion was regularly observed by the 
 Harmonists. It will constitute a recognition of 
 the reverent gratitude of those pious people to 
 an all-wise Providence for the rewards they en- 
 joyed from the fruitfulness of the soil which 
 
[24] 
 
 they cultivated so well — -a fitting celebration 
 both of their work and worship. 
 
 The Harvest Home Festival in August was 
 one of the three annual feast days of the Rap- 
 pites. 
 
 VI. GENERAL PROMOTION 
 
 In order to extend the educational and patri- 
 otic benefits of the Memorial Movement to all 
 parts of the State, a general system of state-wide 
 promotion is being developed under the auspices 
 of the Commission. The programs are devoted 
 mainly to the historical background of the Me- 
 morial and to the encouragement of pilgrimages 
 to New Harmony. 
 
 RADIO RECITALS— The script for twenty 
 different radio recitals of fifteen minutes each, 
 covering outstanding episodes and characters of 
 the history of New Harmony, has been prepared 
 by the Commission. These recitals are given 
 serially from time to time over radio stations 
 throughout Indiana. Some of them are recorded 
 for general and permanent use. A special net- 
 work series of ten numbers prepared by mem- 
 bers of the New Harmony Memorial Commis- 
 sion were recorded by electrical transcription 
 and broadcast on a rotating schedule throughout 
 April, May, and June, 1941, over the following 
 Indiana stations: WIRE, Indianapolis; WO WO, 
 Fort Wayne; WIND, Gary; WGBF, Evansville; 
 WLBC, Muncie. This was repeated on WISH, 
 Indianapolis; WKBV, Richmond; WBAA, Pur- 
 due University; WSBT, South Bend; and 
 WHIP, Hammond, during February, March and 
 April 1942. 
 
 PAGEANT COLOR FILM — An artistic 
 color film of the Pageant of New Harmony, 
 prepared for the Commission by the genius of 
 
[25] 
 
 Captain J. Frank Hubbard of Muncie, and furn- 
 ished with complete equipment for the use of 
 the Commission by Mrs. Edmund Burke Ball, 
 has been presented before many schools and 
 clubs throughout the State, as well as upon 
 several general programs. The film is avail- 
 able for suitable use by special arrangement. 
 
 WOMEN'S CLUB MEMORIAL PRO- 
 GRAMS — Following a prospectus prepared by 
 the Commission, Memorial institute programs 
 based upon the history of New Harmony were 
 conducted throughout the year 1 940-4 1, by 
 clubs all over Indiana under the general direc- 
 tion of the Indiana Federation of Clubs. They 
 cultivated interest in club pilgrimages to New 
 Harmony, especially during the Golden Rain 
 Tree Festival. Tentative plans are forming for 
 a special Indiana Women's Club Day during the 
 Festival of 1942, in memory of Frances Wright. 
 
 STATE FAIR PROGRAMS — Each year 
 throughout the State Fair, daily recitals are 
 given on the Indiana University stage under 
 the auspices of the New Harmony Memorial 
 Commission. Some of these recitals are accom- 
 panied by the showing of the color film of the 
 Pageant of New Harmony. They cover the 
 historic background and the main educational 
 features of the Memorial Movement, stressing 
 also its state and national relation with other 
 great historic memorials. 
 
 During the 1941 Fair, a forenoon and after- 
 noon recital of fifteen minutes was given on 
 each of the eight days. By correlation with 
 the Indiana University Foundation, these re- 
 citals gave attention also to the Clark. Lincoln, 
 and Harrison Memorials in their proper rela- 
 tion to the New Harmony Memorial. Lieu- 
 tenant Governor Dawson, State Superintendent 
 
[26] 
 
 Malan, and Chief Justice Curtis Shake partici- 
 pated in some of the programs. 
 
 STATE WIDE PROGRAMS— A series of 
 recital programs explaining the Memorial 
 Movement are given miscellaneously in all parts 
 of the State by the director and other members 
 of the Commission before schools and clubs. 
 Miss Elliott speaks frequently before school 
 groups and other special assemblies in Indian- 
 apolis. Mrs. Bab addresses numerous sessions 
 of the Indiana Federation of Clubs. She ap- 
 peared on the programs of several of the Dis- 
 trict Conventions of the Federation during 
 October 1941, as the official representative of 
 the Commission. 
 
 THE OCTO-MILLENNIAL ANNIVERS- 
 ARY OF THE FOUNDING OF NEW HAR- 
 MONY — Was celebrated by a series of histori- 
 cal programs June 23, 1939, with John S. Duss, 
 the last male trustee of the Harmony Society, 
 (Rappites), directing in person the production 
 of several choice musical selections of the Har- 
 mony Society. He was a famous orchestra 
 leader in his day and now resides in the Great 
 House of Father George Rapp in Ambridge, 
 (Old Economy) Pennsylvania. It is contem- 
 plated that this impressive music, both vocal 
 and instrumental, may be preserved perma- 
 nently in movietone. 
 
 VII. PUBLICATIONS AND 
 GENERAL PUBLICITY 
 
 The Memorial Act directs the Commission to 
 "prepare publicity" and issue "all suitable pub- 
 lications for effecting the public purposes of 
 the Memorial as a State institution. 11 This in- 
 volves the issuance of a series of official publi- 
 
[27J 
 
 cations in the nature of books, or brochures, as 
 well as numerous pamphlets, leaflets, and cir- 
 culars. Each number of the main series is de- 
 voted to some outstanding unit of the Me- 
 morial with all the historic associations that 
 attach to it. As noted below, the first two 
 numbers of this series have been completed. 
 Others will appear in due course. It is intended 
 that the finished series will constitute a com- 
 plete and authentic library of the New Har- 
 mony Memorial and its historic background. 
 
 THE OLD FAUNTLEROY HOME— This 
 first official publication of the Commission, a 
 book of 230 pages, beautifully bound and illus- 
 trated, is being sold at the Administration 
 Building and The Old Fauntleroy Home at the 
 nominal price of $1.00 per copy— by mail, $1.05. 
 It presents a panoramic view of the history of 
 New Harmony from the portals and windows 
 of the Old Fauntleroy Home, and offers choice 
 glimpses of the whole historic setting of the 
 Memorial Movement, including especially a 
 thorough treatise upon all the human and 
 historic associations, attaching to this particu- 
 lar unit, the Old Fauntleroy Home . 
 
 THE LABYRINTH— This brochure of 94 
 pages, well illustrated, is a history of the New 
 Harmony Labyrinth, including some special 
 study of the spiritual and mystical life of its 
 builders, the Rappites, and a brief survey of 
 labyrinths generally. The outside front cover 
 exhibits a diagram from which the clue to the 
 Labyrinth can be derived. It is sold at the 
 Labyrinth and Administration Building for 
 twenty-five cents — by mail, twenty-eight cents. 
 
 MEMORIAL PROSPECTUS — A brief 
 prospectus explaining the nature and object of 
 the Memorial has been prepared in mimeo- 
 
[28] 
 
 graph iorm for free distribution to clubs and 
 schools. A summary of progress was issued 
 both for 1940 and 1941, which constituted the 
 bases of official annual reports in the Indiana 
 Year Book. 
 
 MEMORIAL GUIDES — In cooperation 
 with the Indiana State Highway Commission, 
 sign posts have been erected in New Harmony 
 for guidance to units already in charge of the 
 Memorial Commission and to other contem- 
 plated units. A Memorial guide leaflet has been 
 issued for general distribution. Pilgrimage 
 groups are conducted through the Memorial 
 area by the director with brief recitals at the 
 principal units. Individual guidance will be 
 arranged as the necessity develops. The erec- 
 tion of standardized memorial markers for state 
 highways with sightly sign boards for the town 
 limits and handsome standards for completed 
 Memorial units is under way. 
 
 NEWSPAPER FEATURES — The public 
 programs have given occasion for informative 
 news articles in local papers where they have 
 been rendered. Special feature articles, with 
 elaborate displays of New Harmony pictures, 
 have been prepared by the Commission for 
 such leading newspapers as the Evansville 
 Courier, The Indianapolis Star, The Indian- 
 apolis News, Muncie Star, Fort Wayne Jour- 
 nal-Gazette, South Bend Tribune, Gary Post, 
 Vincennes Post, and the Indiana Teacher. Sev- 
 eral rotogravure sections have been devoted 
 to New Harmony views and feature articles. 
 A regular newsletter system covering 100 Indi- 
 ana newspapers has been established by which 
 Memorial matters of timely reader interest are 
 furnished these papers from time to time. 
 
[29] 
 
 MEMORIAL SCRAP BOOK— Pages and 
 
 clippings of typical news and feature articles 
 from the beginning of the Memorial Movement 
 have been compiled in a voluminous historical 
 scrapbook,. which constitutes a valuable chron- 
 ological record and contemporary history of its 
 progress. 
 
 VIII. COOPERATION OF HIGHER 
 INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING 
 
 As noted in the schedule of educational pro- 
 grams previously recited, advantage has al- 
 ready been taken of the special provision in- 
 cluded in Section 5 of the Memorial Act for 
 the enlistment of educational extension service 
 of higher institutions of learning. This pro- 
 vision reads: 
 
 Arrangements may be made with one 
 or more higher institutions of learning in 
 Indiana or with individual members of 
 faculties thereof for the most economical 
 and effective promotion of the uses and 
 purposes of this act; — 
 
 Purdue University is giving expert horti- 
 cultural service through its Agricultural De- 
 partment in the reinauguration of the Rappite 
 Kingdom of Flowers. 
 
 Indiana University is furnishing special in- 
 struction through its Zoological Department 
 for the Say-Sistaire Shell Hunt and the Thomas 
 Say Entomological Field Day. Its Department 
 of Astronomy has sponsored the conduct of 
 astronomical observations and its Department 
 of Physical Education has introduced the Laby- 
 rinthine games and exercises. 
 
 Indiana State Teachers College, through its 
 Department of Education, is supervising a 
 guidance and testing project for the conduct 
 
[30] 
 
 of pilgrimage programs by organised school 
 groups and classes. It is contemplated that 
 this will accomplish a scientific evaluation of 
 the educational benefits of historical pilgrim- 
 ages that will contribute to the enrichment of 
 history teaching generally. 
 
 Evansville College has assumed sponsorship 
 of a research and demonstration project cover' 
 ing Robert Owen's philosophy of recreation 
 through a special organization within the col- 
 lege for that purpose, known as the Terp- 
 sichorean Society. This Society has conducted 
 a series of Owenite community dances and re- 
 hearsals culminating in a spectaclar Terpsi- 
 chorean Institute in New Harmony, May 12, 
 1941, to which the Indianapolis Star of June 
 8, 1941, devoted two pages of its rotogravure 
 section. 
 
 On March 19, 1942, another important fea- 
 ture of this project was instituted by the con- 
 duct of an Owenite Forum at New Harmony 
 and Evansville College. A very comprehensive 
 program was rendered, as follows: 
 
 LUNCHEON PROGRAM 
 
 12:15 to 1:30 P. M— Sun Dial Room of Rappite 
 Community House No. 2, New Harmony. 
 (50^ per plate — reservations in advance.) 
 
 Address— HISTORIC INDIANA, by Presi- 
 dent Ralph N. Tirey, Indiana State Teachers 
 College. 
 
 AFTERNOON FORUM 
 
 1:40 P. M. — Murphy Auditorium, New Har- 
 mony. 
 
 Music — New Harmony High School. 
 
 lOmin. Concise statement of main historic 
 background of New Harmony Memorial 
 
[31] 
 
 Movement by Ross F. Lockridge, Director 
 New Harmony Memorial Commission. 
 
 General Subject— MEMORIALIZATION 
 OF SPIRITUAL VALUES AND SO- 
 CIAL IDEALS — discussed and evalu- 
 ated with special reference to New Har- 
 mony as a shrine to idealism, from vari- 
 ous points of view as follows: 
 
 1 5 min. Enriching the Teaching of History — 
 
 Prof. Wm. O. Lynch, Indiana University. 
 
 15 min. Cultivating Spiritual Conception — 
 Prof. Louis M. Sears, Purdue University. 
 
 1 5 min. Stimulation of Patriotism — Judge Cur- 
 tis Shake, Indiana Supreme Court. 
 
 1 5 min. Advancement of Social Science — Prof. 
 Francis W. Vreeland, Depauw University. 
 20 minute recess — Tour of principal New 
 Harmony Memorial units. 
 
 10 min. Building Social and Ethical Attitudes — 
 
 Pres. Clyde E. Wildman, Depauw University. 
 
 10 min. Creating Historic Consciousness — Pres. 
 Ralph N. Tirey. 
 
 10 min. Promoting Economic Security — F. B. 
 Culley, Pres. Evansville C. of C. 
 
 10 min. Correlation with Schools — Dr. Clem- 
 ent T. Malan, State Superintendent. 
 
 10 min. Recognizing Equality of Women — 
 
 Mrs. Frederick G. BaU, Pres. New Harmony 
 Memorial Commission and Past President, In- 
 diana Federation of Clubs. 
 
 (Questions may be asked during and after 
 each talk. Volunteer talks, not exceeding 
 three minutes each, will be permitted.) 
 
[32} 
 
 Symposium at Evansville College — 7:30 P. M. 
 
 Music by Evansville College. 
 10 min. Brief explanation of religious factor in 
 Rappite and Owenite socialisations in New 
 Harmony — Ross F. Lockridge, Director New 
 Harmony Memorial Commission. 
 
 General Subject— RELIGION AND THE 
 WORLD TODAY. 
 20 min. Pres. Clyde E. Wildman, Depauw Uni- 
 versity. 
 
 20 min. Wm. H. Stout, Greenwood, Indiana, 
 R. F. D. 2. 
 
 20 min. Judge Albert J. Veneman, Evansville, 
 Indiana. 
 
 20 min. Rabbi Milton Greenwald, Evansville, 
 
 Indiana. 
 
 Music by Evansville College. 
 
 Dr. Lincoln B. Hale, President of Evansville 
 College, acted as moderator at all sessions. 
 
 A full transcript of the Proceedings of the 
 Forum is being published in the form of a Me- 
 morial brochure. 
 
 The second annual Terpsichorean Institute 
 was held in New Harmony on May 14, 1942, in 
 which a recreational group from Merom Insti- 
 tute supplemented the special demonstrations 
 of Evansville College by rendering a series of 
 games and dances. Sets of four couples each — 
 both old and young — joined in some popular 
 square dances. The climax of the evening was 
 a grand march in which everybody partici- 
 pated. 
 
 The community educational program of 
 Merom Institute, which is conducted through- 
 out the year, stresses all forms of vocational and 
 recreational activities and in this respect has 
 close kinship with the Memorial purposes of 
 
[33] 
 
 New Harmony. By a cooperative arrangement, 
 the New Harmony Memorial Commission as- 
 sisted the Institute in the presentation of a three 
 day folklore pageant, "The Valley of Democ- 
 racy/ 1 during February, 1942. The pageant gave 
 fitting emphasis to the importance of New Har- 
 mony as a realm of Hoosier history and folklore 
 on the Wabash. Merom Institute is generously 
 reciprocating this assistance by rendering rare 
 folk dances and games in our Terpsichorean 
 Institutes and other Owenite programs. Such 
 exercises are a fine exhibit of Robert Owen's 
 dream of an adventure in happiness as the basis 
 of his Community of Equality. Much enjoyable 
 cooperation with Merom Institute is anticipated 
 in the future development of New Harmony 
 Memorial activities. 
 
 IX. MEMORIALIZING THE WABASH 
 RIVER 
 
 Steps have been taken toward the memorial- 
 ization of the Wabash River as the most dis- 
 tinctive factor in the historic background of the 
 history of New Harmony. This is in keeping 
 with a special provision of Section 5 of the 
 Memorial Act: 
 
 Inducements shall be offered through the 
 operation of the Boatload of Knowledge, 
 and other craft, if necessary, to encourage 
 a return to the Wabash River and its in- 
 viting banks for boating, swimming, and 
 promenading as in Owenite days of the 
 "Adventure in Happiness. 11 
 
 As noted in the schedule of educational pro- 
 grams and activities, some campfire and boat- 
 ride programs have been held upon the river at 
 New Harmony. A specific project covering this 
 feature of memorialization is now in charge of 
 
[34] 
 
 the Indiana Rural Youth Clubs. This state-wide 
 auxiliary of the Indiana Farm Bureau is spon- 
 soring the promotion of rural community cul- 
 ture based on Robert Owen's philosophy of 
 cultural recreation, which involves the stimula- 
 tion of community pride by historic site recitals 
 on selected spots of interest throughout the 
 State, with particular reference to the Wabash 
 River as an historic Hoosier highway. 
 
 The beginning was made in the late autumn 
 of 1941 with a series of campfire recital pro- 
 grams on the river, as follows: — at New Har- 
 mony, October 7; at Forks of the River near 
 Huntington, where Little River joins the Wa- 
 bash, October 10; at Anderson Mounds Park on 
 the west fork of White River, (the Wapehani 
 of the Delawares), which is the principal tribu- 
 tary of the Wabash, October 13; and at the site 
 of old Fort Harrison, (Terre Haute), Novem- 
 ber 7. 
 
 This project looks toward the restoration of 
 the Boatload of Knowledge (Owen's keelboat, 
 the Philanthropist) as a regular Memorial unit. 
 
 X. MEMORIAL GIFTS 
 
 The special provision of the Memorial Act 
 authorising the Commission to "receive dona- 
 tions, gifts, devises, and bequests 11 has had very 
 gracious response both from the community of 
 New Harmony and from other parts of the 
 State. Up to this time the following generous 
 contributions have been received: 
 
 CHADWICK FRETAGEOT HOME— For 
 
 use as Administration Building, presented by 
 Mary Fretageot. 
 
 TWO ACRE PARK— At ferry landing on 
 State Highway No. 68, presented by the town 
 of New Harmony and maintained in keeping 
 
[35] 
 
 with Memorial purposes as the June Barrett 
 Park by the Indiana State Highway Commis- 
 sion. 
 
 THE ELM TREE LOT— To be used as main 
 part of Labyrinth ground, presented by A. C. 
 Thomas of New Harmony. 
 
 THE LABYRINTH— Completely construct- 
 ed and rest of ground also furnished by Mrs. 
 Edmund Burke Ball of Muncie. 
 
 THE OLD FAUNTLEROY HOME— Which 
 
 was purchased by the Indiana Federation of 
 Clubs in 1925 for $10,000.00, has been pre- 
 sented to the State together with complete fur- 
 nishings, by the Federation. 
 
 THE RAPPITE CEMETERY— Decreed as 
 State property for Memorial use by the Circuit 
 Court of Posey County upon action brought by 
 the Attorney General of Indiana. 
 
 COLOR FILM OF THE PAGEANT OF 
 NEW HARMONY— Prepared by Captain J. 
 Frank Hubbard of Muncie and presented by 
 Mrs. Edmund Burke Ball. 
 
 A WEALTH OF ANTIQUE FURNISH- 
 INGS TOGETHER WITH MANY CASH 
 DONATIONS— Provided for the furnishing of 
 the Tavern by Women's State Tavern Furnish- 
 ings Committee. 
 
 THE BOOK— The Old Fauntleroy Home" 
 —The writing of this first official publication of 
 the Commission was financed by George A. 
 Ball of Muncie, and the first one thousand copies 
 were printed and presented by Mrs. Edmund 
 Burke Ball. 
 
 CHAIRS AND TABLES OF THE HAR- 
 MONY SOCIETY— Presented by Mr. and Mrs. 
 John S. Duss of Ambridge, (Economy) Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
[36] 
 
 XL COOPERATION WITH DEPART- 
 MENT OF CONSERVATION 
 
 Section 28 of the Memorial Act establishes a 
 definite working relation between the New 
 Harmony Memorial Commission and the Con- 
 servation Department. It provides: 
 
 When the New Harmony Memorial shall 
 have been finally completed and when any 
 celebration which may be arranged for in 
 connection therewith shall have been con- 
 cluded, the governor, on request of the 
 Commission, shall issue an order declaring 
 the Commission dissolved, and thereupon 
 the custody, management, and maintenance 
 of such Memorial shall be turned over to 
 and shall be vested in the Department of 
 Conservation, and the Department of Con- 
 servation shall thereafter have the custody, 
 management and maintenance of such me- 
 morial in the same manner and subject to 
 the laws of this State and the rules and 
 regulations of the Department of Conser- 
 vation issued thereunder, applying to State 
 parks. 
 
 It provides further: 
 
 It shall be the duty of the Conservation 
 Department to cooperate with the New 
 Harmony Memorial Commission in any 
 way that may be helpful in carrying out 
 the purposes of this act. 
 
 Acting under this provision, the Commission 
 has solicited the interest of the Conservation 
 Department and is receiving constructive aid. 
 The expert technical service of the department, 
 both in landscape and building architecture, is 
 being made available for the work of Memorial 
 restoration. This extends especially to the oper- 
 
[37] 
 
 ation of the master plan of the Memorial for 
 zoning the entire town of New Harmony and 
 for contemplating also the inclusion of addi- 
 tional territory, especially along the river lead- 
 ing to the old Rappite dam. 
 
 All this looks toward a gradual extension of 
 this Memorial unit as a growing State preserve. 
 It also embraces the memorialization of the Wa- 
 bash River in proper relation to other State me- 
 morials located on the river, such as the George 
 Rogers Clark Memorial at Vincennes and the 
 Tippecanoe Battlefield. It may develop a work- 
 ing relation through the Conservation Depart- 
 ment with the maintenance not only of the 
 Boatload of Knowledge, operated in connection 
 with the New Harmony Memorial, but also the 
 restoration and maintenance of the Willing, the 
 famous war galley of George Rogers Clark, to 
 be operated in connection with the Clark Me- 
 morial at Vincennes. 
 
 It is probable that as fast as Memorial units 
 are completed ready for permanent operation, 
 such as the Tavern especially, they will come 
 under the management of the Conservation De- 
 partment on a concession basis. 
 
 Such cooperation is an example of very help- 
 ful correlation of State agencies. By reliance 
 upon the expert, all-time engineering and struc- 
 tural service of the Conservation Department in 
 handling material, or physical, problems, the 
 Commission will be able to give more emphasis 
 to the equally important purposes of the Me- 
 morial in the way of promoting its educational, 
 historical, patriotic, and spiritual features. 
 
 Plans for a substantial extension of the Me- 
 morial in the form of restoring complete block 
 areas are now under consideration by the Con- 
 servation Department in cooperation with the 
 Commission. 
 
[38] 
 
 XII. MASTER MEMORIAL PLAN 
 
 The Memorial is to be systematically com- 
 pleted in all its parts in harmony with a master 
 plan that is evolving gradually out of the build- 
 ing and the programming along institutional 
 lines. It contemplates the memorialization of 
 the entire community as an organic whole. The 
 town of New Harmony is in itself a Memorial. 
 The material units are to be restored and oper- 
 ated in relation to each other and to the town 
 so as to constitute a composite unity reflecting 
 the aspirations of the Rappites and the Owenites 
 and the history that was made by them and in 
 the Afterglow that survived them. 
 
 Considering this plan, first from the stand- 
 point of the separate physical units, they will 
 appear, unit by unit, according to the general 
 scheme substantially as follows: 
 
 The Tavern — It will be restored as a memo- 
 rial exhibit of both the Rappite and Owenite 
 regime through the maintenance of the building 
 itself with the same walls, floors, and main di- 
 visions of old historic No. 3, while operating 
 specifically as a utilitarian unit — a comfortable 
 and inviting hostelry that will serve present day 
 needs as well as any first class hotel in a much 
 larger town. Although the formation and the 
 furniture will express primarily the color and 
 tone of hostleries of the first quarter of the 19th 
 century, there will be modern accommodations 
 such as bathrooms, electric lights, spring mat- 
 tresses, running water, etc. The fireplaces will 
 be as important as the bathrooms. 
 
 It will be made to memorialize the Owenite 
 regime, especially as the home and headquarters 
 of Robert Owen during his career in New Har- 
 mony. There will be a fine Robert Owen suite. 
 There will also be a Frances Wright suite. All 
 
[39} 
 
 I the rooms will have names of outstanding men 
 and women of Rappite and Owenite days. These 
 rooms will reflect something of the lives of those 
 whose names they bear through pictures and 
 other adornments. 
 
 Every effort will be made to have the service 
 of the restored Tavern exude the welcoming at- 
 mosphere of the best inns of pioneer days — a 
 place where the questing pilgrim can find relax- 
 ation and comfort, while contemplating historic 
 associations of which it is an integral part. 
 
 It is within the possible consideration of the 
 future extension of the Memorial area that the 
 old Tavern may be restored and enlarged on a 
 selected spot overlooking the river, so that it 
 may serve the purpose of a popular summer 
 tourist inn as well as a Memorial exhibit. 
 
 Community House No. 2 — This unit will me- 
 morialise the Rappites, only through the preser- 
 vation of the building itself, as perhaps the best 
 exhibit of their sturdy architecture. It will be 
 made to commemorate especially the wide va- 
 riety of uses to which it was put by the Owen- 
 ites in the Community of Equality and in the 
 Afterglow. It has been used ever since Rappite 
 days mainly as a school house and recreation 
 center and for miscellaneous community pur- 
 poses. It will continue in that character. There 
 are floors for dances and games, special quar- 
 ters for community gatherings and groups of 
 various kinds, including special religious, recre- 
 ational, and educational institutes. 
 
 Especially, it will be the home of the Terp- 
 sichorean Society of Evansville College. Its 
 character as a dormitory may be revived in a 
 somewhat modern way by maintaining a very 
 simple and inexpensive dormitory for school 
 groups on the third floor. The old print shop — 
 
[40] 
 
 home of the New Harmony Register for so 
 many decades — will be maintained as a unique 
 printing museum. 
 
 With the old Rappite sun dial on its south 
 wall marking faithfully the sunlight hours, with 
 its firm old walls, beams, and Dutch biscuits ex- 
 pressing the solidity of its builders, and with 
 their touching farewell scribbled on the stair- 
 way, old No. 2 will forever evoke solemn mem- 
 ories of the Rappites, while memorial activities 
 within it recall the halcyon days of the Owenite 
 adventure in happiness. 
 
 The Kilbinger Home — It will be maintained 
 historically as one of the best of the large brick 
 houses of the Rappites, serving somewhat in the 
 nature of an annex to old No. 2, furnished as a 
 high grade Rappite dwelling house, exemplify- 
 ing the home life of the Rappites. 
 
 The Old Fauntleroy Home — This unit will be 
 maintained in its well established character as 
 a women's club shrine, the birthplace of the 
 Minerva Society, and the home of the succes- 
 sion of distinguished scientists who occupied it 
 in the days of the Community of Equality and 
 the Afterglow — a secluded spot where, as the 
 valedictory of our book, The Old Fauntleroy 
 Home, assures the reader, one may 
 
 "respire an air of spiritual exaltation and 
 understand that New Harmony is not the 
 cemetery of a lost cause, but a door of ac- 
 cess to a realm whose inhabitants are im- 
 perishable ideals, hopes, and dreams." 
 
 The Fort Granary — This huge structure of- 
 fers a vast range of memorial possibilities. Not 
 much of its first historic character can be re- 
 stored because there will be no silver bullion to 
 hoard in the fortified lower floor with its frown- 
 
[41] 
 
 ing loop holes, or large harvests of grain for the 
 five tiled floors, as in the days of the thrifty 
 Rappites. Its very existence memorializes the 
 superb thrift and security of the industrious 
 Harmonists, who, while fixing their eyes trust- 
 ingly upon heaven, nevertheless made ample 
 provision for their temporary sojourn on earth. 
 The fact that this building was used to some 
 extent by William Maclure and David Dale 
 Owen as a geological museum offers a definite 
 pretext. It will be devoted to large museum 
 purposes, not only along geological lines but 
 also along many other lines. There is a vast 
 surplusage of Harmonist artifacts — tools, guns, 
 vessels, baskets, furniture, spinning wheels, mu- 
 sical instruments, etc.— in the Pennsylvania res- 
 toration of old Economy, many of which were 
 made and used in Harmonie on the Wabash. 
 It is hoped that reciprocal arrangements may be 
 effected whereby a goodly supply of these can 
 be brought back to Indiana for a Rappite mu- 
 seum in our old fort granary. It is possible that 
 a substantial section may be devoted to an ex- 
 hibit of the quaint manufacturing craft of the 
 Rappites — their spinning, weaving, welding, etc. 
 It is contemplated that one full floor may be 
 devoted to the purpose of a museum of family 
 historic booths for the keeping and displaying 
 of treasured relics of early families in New Har- 
 mony, running through the period of the After- 
 glow. 
 
 Community House No. 4 — It will be restored 
 and conducted entirely in keeping with its latter 
 day use as Old Union Hall — the Opera House 
 and home of the Thespian Society. The old 
 stage will be restored and rustic seats, rising 
 tier by tier, will be supplied. The balustrade 
 and gallery, with its two floor levels, will be ap- 
 propriately furnished. 
 
[42] 
 
 It will be maintained as a memorial studio, a 
 sort of antique little theatre. Special stage plays 
 of all kinds by groups from distances will be 
 accommodated there. Through electrical record- 
 ing and movie tone, continuous entertainment 
 and instruction will be given from the stage in 
 the form of talks by historic characters, music, 
 drama, and all forms of screen entertainment, 
 reflecting the distinctive history and especially 
 the characteristic dramatic entertainment of 
 Owenite days and the Afterglow. 
 
 Chairs and seats will be removable so as to 
 provide space for games and dances, as was the 
 favorite custom in old Union Hall, within the 
 memory of present day Harmonians. 
 
 The Owen Laboratory Home — This will be 
 distinctively an Owenite unit. It will be fully 
 repaired and maintained as a memorial to the 
 Owen family with particular emphasis upon the 
 life and career of David Dale Owen, who built 
 it. Having been owned and occupied only by 
 various members of the Owen family from the 
 time it was built until now, it should be made to 
 reflect in every possible way the fairest tradi- 
 tions of the culture and genius of the descend- 
 ants of Robert Owen. As many unique Owen 
 family relics as possible will be exhibited in it, 
 including, it is hoped, some rare specimens of 
 art, as well as of science. It will probably con- 
 stitute the principal art center of the Memorial. 
 
 The announced purpose of Purdue University 
 to erect an appropriate Owen Memorial in New 
 Harmony in recognition, especially, of the fact 
 that Richard Owen was the first Purdue Presi- 
 dent, will involve consideration of this place, or 
 of the space between it and the Corbin Home, 
 for the location of the Purdue Owen Memorial. 
 
[43] 
 
 Rapp Maclure Place (Corbin Home) — The 
 impressive character of this stately building and 
 spacious surroundings will be maintained in 
 harmony with its historic significance. In the 
 days of Father Rapp, it was a place of welcome 
 anc] hospitality to distinguished guests. It served 
 in that character also during the Community of 
 Equality when William Maclure was its genial 
 and generous master. It has had substantially 
 that character ever since the days of Rapp and 
 Maclure. It can, therefore, be considered as a 
 palatial place of welcome and ceremonial enter' 
 tainment of guests, especially official guests. 
 There may be a Presidential suite, a Governor's 
 suite, a Conservation Director's suite, etc. Its 
 spacious parlor and sitting room can be fitted 
 up as handsome Memorial salons — constituting 
 a grand reception center. 
 
 The grounds will be landscaped appropri- 
 ately with especial reference to the Tomb of 
 Thomas Say and the Footprint Rock. 
 
 The fact that Father Rapp maintained an 
 elaborate flower garden and nursery on these 
 premises will be considered and the further fact 
 that Thomas Say had his last residence there in 
 Father Rapp's house and that both David Dale 
 Owen and Richard Owen spent their last days 
 in the present Corbin home, where both of 
 them passed away, will be given consideration 
 in its Memorial adaptation. 
 
 It will naturally assume the proportions of 
 the central square of the Memorial area in the 
 culmination of the master plan. 
 
 The Rappite Cemetery — It will be maintained 
 as a solemn and consecrated shrine to the piety 
 and reverence of the Rappites, including also 
 historic respect for the simple faith of the abo- 
 rigines who were resting there centuries before 
 
[44] 
 
 the Rappites came. Plans are in progress to 
 landscape it with walks and benches and with 
 selected shrubs and flowers as a place for 
 thoughtful strolling and quiet meditation. Prob- 
 ably there will be a general restoration of locust 
 trees, which were greatly favored by the Rapp- 
 ites for the modest adornment of their burial 
 ground. An impressive kiosk, bearing an in- 
 formative legend of some 2000 words, is to be 
 erected in the midst of the Rappite burial area 
 and a similar one among the Indian mounds. 
 The legends will recite the main features of 
 their respective religious beliefs. 
 
 A rustic pla^a is to be provided for programs 
 mainly of a religious nature reflecting the faith 
 both of the Rappites and the Indians; and in 
 view of the fact that the Indian mounds within 
 it were the first of the kind to be scientifically 
 excavated in the United States, it may' also be 
 made the stage of some scientific demonstra- 
 tions. As noted in the foregoing schedule of 
 institutional activities, appropriate programs in 
 the form of memorial religious services, Indian 
 campfire pow-wows, and astronomical observa- 
 tions have already been inaugurated. 
 
 The Labyrinth — In addition to the general 
 use of the Labyrinth just for threading its cir- 
 cuitous lanes, enjoying its natural beauty, and 
 contemplating the significance of the inner tem- 
 ple, this Memorial unit, with its spacious es- 
 planade and its noble elm tree in the fore- 
 ground, will be made an outdoor stage for 
 pageantry of all kinds, including special games 
 and dances related in any manner to the myth- 
 ology and mysticism associated with labyrinths 
 generally. A primary beginning with laby- 
 rinthine dances has already been made and a 
 series of religious services inaugurated in com- 
 
[45] 
 
 memoration of the reverence and mysticism of 
 the Rappites, as noted in the schedule of insti- 
 tutional activities. 
 
 As one of the few formal labyrinths in the 
 , world today, it is to be regarded as a symbol of 
 i labyrinths generally, as well as a Memorial to 
 the Harmony Society. 
 
 The June Barrett Park— Maintained by the 
 State Highway Commission in harmony with 
 Memorial purposes, it will be used as a Me- 
 morial unit in connection with the memorializa- 
 tion of the Wabash River. It is contemplated 
 as the port of the Boatload of Knowledge and 
 will be expanded in its purposes to include every 
 kind of Memorial activity associated with the 
 river, such as historic campfire programs, boat- 
 rides, promenades, picnics, and outdoor scien- 
 tific demonstrations in the realm of natural his- 
 tory and philosophy. 
 
 The Boatload of Knowledge— Is to be oper- 
 ated up and down the river on regular and spe- 
 cial schedule. It may be chartered by groups 
 for extended voyages when the stage of the 
 river permits. Its main cabin floor will be suit- 
 able for dancing and it will be equipped with 
 radio and phonograph service so that all kinds 
 of suitable programs can be had at any time by 
 electrical transcription. As far as possible, it 
 will be used for the benefit of pilgrims who 
 wish to visit points up and down the Wabash, 
 and perhaps, up and down the Ohio. It will 
 always be available for short cruises between 
 the Rappite Dam and Juno Point; and will be 
 especially popular as a means of travel by the 
 Wabash between the port of New Harmony 
 and the old Rappite Dam, if the Memorial area 
 is extended that far, 
 
[46] 
 
 It will be a signal Memorial to the world 
 famed cruise of the intellectual Argonauts to 
 New Harmony January 26, 1826, and it will do 
 more than all else, has ever done to memorialise 
 the Hoosier Wabash. 
 
 XIII. EVOLUTION OF MASTER PLAN 
 
 Out of the assemblage of associations set 
 forth in this brochure — the historic background, 
 the restoration of material units, the conduct of 
 institutional programs, and the distribution of 
 brochures constituting a Memorial Library — 
 the master plan of the New Harmony Memo- 
 rial will gradually evolve. The details will be 
 worked out naturally with its progressive de- 
 velopment. Painstaking care will be exercised 
 to avoid duplication and to integrate every indi- 
 vidual feature fittingly with the composite unity. 
 
 Admission charges will be fixed for each sep- 
 arate unit and a general admission ticket will be 
 issued at a special rate that will cover any or all 
 units. 
 
 It is hoped that the door receipts and the sale 
 of brochures, cards, leaflets, and pictures will 
 provide a sufficient sustaining fund to guaran- 
 tee the sound financing of the Memorial as a 
 permanent State institution. 
 
 XIV. FUTURE EXTENSION 
 
 For the future extension of the Memorial, as 
 a permanent and growing State preserve, it is 
 contemplated in the master plan that one or 
 more complete Rappite blocks, such as the fac- 
 tory square, or some other typical section or 
 sections, may be restored on an exact historical 
 basis. This can be done in perfect harmony with 
 the restoration of the main individual units, now 
 
[47] 
 
 underway, as provided for in the Memorial Act. 
 Such extensions are now under consideration in 
 conjunction with the Conservation Department. 
 
 It is possible also that some individual units, 
 not under contemplation at this time, may be 
 restored in due course of development. This 
 would include consideration of the log distillery, 
 the rope walk, and possibly some of the smaller 
 Rappite dwelling houses. It might even include 
 the restoration of the great Rappite churches. 
 
 All such extensions can be made in harmony 
 with the principal master plan; and will await 
 the cooperative action of the Conservation De- 
 partment. 
 
[48] 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 The New Harmony Memorial is a State in- 
 vestment in human betterment. While com- 
 memorating the past, it provides entertainment 
 and instruction for the present and offers in- 
 spiration and encouragement for the future. 
 There is diversion for the dreamer, the thinker, 
 and the worker. Its assemblage of interests is 
 so wide and varied as to afford both stimulation 
 and relaxation to people of all ages and from 
 every walk of life. 
 
 Above all, it is Indiana's gesture of peace and 
 good will to all the world — a talisman of the 
 opportunity for universal happiness that may 
 be realized through the enjoyment of the ideal 
 American way of life. 
 
 ADDENDUM 
 
 By official action of the New Harmony Me- 
 morial Commission in regular meeting at Indi- 
 anapolis, April 8, 1942, it was decided to sus- 
 pend formal promotion of Memorial activities 
 for the duration. Headquarters will be closed 
 May 31. The director's duties will cease June 
 30. This is not in any sense an abandonment, 
 or let-down, of the Memorial Movement. Every- 
 thing now in hand will be preserved and all 
 Memorial properties will be maintained. 
 
 The Labyrinth will be cared for and kept 
 open to the public. The Old Fauntleroy Home 
 and Community House No. 2 will be conducted 
 as State Memorial units under official hostesses. 
 
 The accumulation of funds through the tax 
 levy will be conserved ready for active promo- 
 tion upon resumption of activities after the dura- 
 tion. It is possible that more property may be 
 purchased during the suspension. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 977.234IN2N C001 
 
 THE NEW HARMONY MEMORIAL MOVEMENT IND 
 
 3 0112 025378016