New Harmony.....part 1

New Harmony, Indiana has been the site of two utopian societies in its past. The Harmonists, led by Johann George Rapp came first and later sold the city and moved to Pennsylvania. The second group led by Robert Owen and William Maclure established an "equality communue" experiment. There are a couple of web sites with more on the history. This is one: http://www.usi.edu/hnh/history.asp

Today the town is a lovely small town located on the Wabash river that is home to many who are interested in arts and nature. There is a strong stress on "tranquility" and peace and harmony. There are 2 labyrinths.....one old and one new....... and other sites that are designed for spiritual seekers. It's a town with an interesting mix of old and modern. I will have to split these pictures into at least 2 posts and didn't begin to take all that is there.

The Roofless Church......one of New Harmony's most famous structures. My daughter was married here and there are weddings here constantly throughout the year.

This statue in the center is called "Descending of the Holy Spirit"

Up in the roof, there were a lot of birds while we were there......probably sparrows, but I couldn't tell for sure.

Another statue on the grounds.

The town is full of old buildings, but many are still private and behind stone walls. Some can be toured, but we didn't do a tour on this trip. This is the Old Granary.

The top of a private home....I believe the one originally owned by Owen, who had a connection with several naturalists of the time.

Same house.

The Rappite Cemetery.....no tombstones, just grass.

Outside the walls of the Rappite Cemetery

Old cabins

Part of a garden at the old house that follows. Lovely iris!

This photo shows the old and the new. The structure in the background is the Atheneum and acts as the visitor center and place to begin tours. Very modern next to these old cabins! It looks out towards the Wabash River, which is just right behind it and currently out of its banks.

I saw this Red-headed Woodpecker, but could not get close enough for a good shot! This is a woodpecker that never comes to my house and that I have seldom ever seen. I really wanted a better picture! (frustration)

This modern Cathedral Labrynth is patterned after the floor of a church in Chartres, France. (hope I got that right) It is considered a very meditative place and people walk the path and pray or meditate as they walk. My niece and I walked it to the center, but then left. Hard to meditate with other people there :-)

There is so much more to see.....I have pictures of a beautiful garden at a house, and also a "memory garden" that was very peaceful, and the old cemetery where I went looking for birds! Will post more tomorrow or at a later date. Plan to go back to see more peonies in bloom and look for more birds and take the guided tour of the buildings.

These 2 pictures were added at the last minute to this post, because I forgot them! This is the hedge layrinth that is on the outskirts of town. It is about to be torn out and replanted because it was planted as a maze with dead ends and not as a true layrinth like it was suppose to be that led to the temple in the center. People have made short-cuts through it for years because of the dead-ends and frustration. We'll see if this improves it. It is suppose to make it more accurate to what it was suppose to have been to begin with.