New Harmony collection
Scope and Contents
The New Harmony collection contains materials from and information related to the New Harmony community in Southern Indiana and the family of Robert Owen, one of its leaders. The collection includes correspondence, newspapers, illustrations, maps, pamphlets, and historical research about New Harmony.
Dates
- Creation: 1820-1980s
Creator
- Owen, Richard, 1810-1890 (Person)
- Owen, David Dale, 1807-1860 (Person)
- Hepburn, William Murray, 1874- (Person)
Access Information
The collection is open for research.
Copyright and Use Information
Portions of material in this collection are in the public domain. Other material copyrights held by Purdue University or original creator. Consult with Purdue University Archives and Special Collections prior to reproduction of materials.
Historical Information
The area of New Harmony, Indiana, was initially settled as Harmony in 1814 by the Rappites, a German Lutheran group led by George Rapp. Rapp sold the land in 1825 to British industrialist Robert Owen, who established New Harmony as an experimental free thinking utopian community that would create "universal happiness through universal education." Owen recruited prominent thinkers, scientists, and educators to join the community. The Owenite community experiment ended after two years, but the Owen family - including Robert Owen's sons Robert Dale Owen, Richard Owen, and David Dale Owen - continued to live and work in the area. Contributions of the short-lived New Harmony experiment include the first kindergarten in America, first free public school, and first public school offering equal education to boys and girls. Historic New Harmony maintains the buildings and history of the original settlements.
Richard Owen, son of New Harmony founder Robert Owen, was the first President of Purdue University.
Source: materials in the collection
Extent
0.70 Cubic Feet (One half-width letter-size manuscript box, one flat box, and two flat folders)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The New Harmony Collection is organized into five series.
- Correspondence
- Documents
- Newspapers
- Imagery
- New Harmony Historical Information and Research
Acquisition Information
Most items were acquired by Purdue Libraries in the 1930s.
Processing Information
Materials were stored in acid-free folders and boxes. Newspaper clipping were flattened. On June 11, 2021, two portraits of Thomas Say that had been stored in a separate location were added to the collection.
Subject
- Owen, Robert Dale, 1801-1877 (Person)
- Twigg, William A. (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
- Title
- New Harmony collection
- Status
- Under Review
- Author
- Adriana Harmeyer
- Date
- 2020-05-19
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Edition statement
- Second edition.
Revision Statements
- 2020-05-19: Collection description updated by Adelle Rogers.
- 2021-06-11: Collection description updated to reflect the addition of two portraits of Thomas Say by Adriana Harmeyer.
Repository Details
Part of the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections Repository
504 Mitch Daniels Boulevard
West Lafayette Indiana 47907 United States
765-494-2839
archives@purdue.edu