New Harmony

New Harmony (pop. 945), town in southwestern Indiana, the site of 2 cooperative communities of the early 1800s. Harmonie was founded in 1814 by George Rapp, leader of the Harmony Society. In 1824 the colony was sold to Robert Owen and renamed New Harmony. The new community, based on socialism and Owen's theories of human freedom, became a noted scientific and cultural center, establishing the first U.S. free library, the first kindergarten, and the first public school. The experiment broke down, however, in 1828.

See also: Indiana.