Stories from the Experiment

New Harmony's story doesn't belong to any single person, organization, or perspective. Here, people share their insights into the Owen-Maclure experiment: its ambitions, its conflicts, and what it means today. These stories will grow and evolve throughout the bicentennial.

This blog features diverse voices examining what happened in New Harmony between 1825 and 1827 and why it still matters. Some posts will raise more questions than they answer. That's intentional. The Owen-Maclure 200 is built around inquiry, and these stories reflect that commitment to honest, rigorous engagement with a complicated history.

We invite you to read, reflect, and join the conversation at our events, through our website, and on social media.

Featured Stories

A scene from the New Harmony Experience film showing two women dressed in Harmonist clothing, standing outside a brick house.

The Harmonists Before Owen and Maclure: Whose Town Was This?

Before Robert Owen arrived with his vision of a secular utopia, New Harmony was already a utopian community — a religious one. For ten years, a German Christian sect called the Harmony Society built a thriving community on the banks of the Wabash River in southwestern Indiana. They constructed the town Owen would buy. They cleared the land, planted the orchards, built the factories, and designed the streets. When Owen purchased New Harmony in 1825, he didn't build a community

Owen-Maclure 200 Committee

Nov 17, 20254 min read

A drawing of Robert Owen's vision of the town of New Harmony by architect Stedman Whitwell

The Two-Year Timeline: What Actually Happened, 1825-1827

When people say the Owen-Maclure experiment lasted "two years," they're being generous. The community reorganized so many times during those two years that it's hard to say when it was really one thing versus another. Here's what actually happened, month by month. 1824-1825: Before the Beginning August 1824: Richard Flower, agent for George Rapp and the Harmony Society, arrives in New Lanark, Scotland, to meet with Robert Owen about the possibility of purchasing Harmonie, Ind

Owen-Maclure 200 Committee

Nov 17, 20258 min read

A model of the town of New Harmony, Indiana, in 1824.

What was the Owen-Maclure Experiment? A Three-Minute Overview

In January 1825, a wealthy Welsh factory owner named Robert Owen bought an entire town in southwestern Indiana and renamed it "New Harmony." He invited people from around the world to join him in creating what he called a "Community of Equality." No private property. No traditional marriage. No organized religion. Shared work, shared profits, and a revolutionary approach to education. Owen promised to prove that the right environment could eliminate crime, poverty, and unhapp

Owen-Maclure 200 Committee

Nov 17, 20253 min read

Conflict and Controversy

New Harmony's second utopian community's collapse was as dramatic as its founding was ambitious. These stories don't shy away from the disagreements, personality clashes, practical failures, and ideological conflicts that tore the community apart in less than two years. Understanding why New Harmony collapsed teaches us as much as understanding why it was founded, revealing timeless tensions between idealism and reality, individual freedom and collective responsibility, vision and execution.

The Two-Year Timeline: What Actually Happened, 1825-1827

When people say the Owen-Maclure experiment lasted "two years," they're being generous. The community reorganized so many times during those two years that it's hard to say when it was really one thing versus another. Here's what actually happened, month by month. 1824-1825: Before the Beginning August 1824: Richard Flower, agent for George Rapp and the Harmony Society, arrives in New Lanark, Scotland, to meet with Robert Owen about the possibility of purchasing Harmonie, Ind

Owen-Maclure 200 Committee

Nov 17, 20258 min read