Historic New Harmony

08/30/2026

🧩 It's Crossword Sunday!

Put your New Harmony knowledge to the test with our new weekly online crossword puzzle. From local history to familiar landmarks, each puzzle offers a new way to explore the stories that make this community unique.

Give it a try today! https://crosswordlabs.com/embed/new-harmony-indiana

How many clues can you solve without looking anything up? 👀

08/29/2026

08/28/2026

🇺🇸✨ Mark your calendars for Lights of Liberty: A Drone Show in New Harmony on Saturday, September 5, 2026!

Join us for a free evening of live music, food vendors, family activities, and a spectacular drone light show above the Atheneum lawn. This special celebration honors both the bicentennial of New Harmony's Community of Equality and America's 250th birthday, bringing together history, community, and innovation in a uniquely New Harmony way.

The fun begins at 5 p.m. with food vendors followed by performances by Third Thursday Bluegrass, The Liberty Belles, and the Rodenberg Blue House Band. As the sun sets, 200 illuminated drones will take to the night sky in a choreographed tribute to liberty and community beginning at 9:05 p.m.

Bring a blanket or lawn chair, gather your family and friends, and enjoy an unforgettable Labor Day weekend evening in New Harmony. Admission is free and no tickets are required.

📍 Atheneum Visitor Center
📅 Saturday, September 5, 2026
⏰ 5–9:30 p.m. CDT

Learn more: https://www.usi.edu/hnh/visit/events-programs/special-events/lights-of-liberty

08/27/2026

🐘

How do you get people to stop what they're doing and pay attention?

In 1909, one answer was simple: parade elephants through town.

This photograph shows circus elephants walking through New Harmony, Indiana with advertising signs attached to coverings on their backs. The signs promoted local merchants and products, turning the parade into a moving advertisement. For many residents, this may have been their first time seeing an elephant in person. The spectacle guaranteed an audience.

The technology has changed, but the idea is surprisingly familiar.

In 1909, advertisers used something extraordinary to draw a crowd and deliver a message. Today, businesses and organizations compete for attention through viral videos, influencer campaigns, flashy advertisements, and social media trends. The goal remains much the same: create something people can't help but look at, then make sure a message is attached to it.

This image also reveals how differently people viewed animals in the early twentieth century. While many people today think about animal welfare and the use of animals in entertainment, most parade spectators in 1909 likely focused on the excitement of seeing elephants and the novelty of the circus coming to town. Historical photographs remind us that every era has its own assumptions about what is acceptable, entertaining, and effective.

More than a century later, this photograph invites us to think not only about the past, but about ourselves.

When New Harmony residents watched these elephants parade through town in 1909, what did they see: animals, entertainment, advertising, or all three? And what might people a century from now think about the ways we capture attention today?

📸 Circus elephants nearing circus grounds in New Harmony, Indiana, August 9, 1909. William F. Lichtenberger, photographer. Don Blair Collection, University of Southern Indiana Archives and Special Collections.

🔎 Take a closer look at https://library.usi.edu/record/1539416?ln=en&p=New+Harmony+Animal&v=uv #?xywh=-247%2C1354%2C2185%2C1240

08/26/2026

🐾 It's National Dog Day, and this pup is stealing the spotlight!

This dog appears alongside its owner in an original painting by Jacob Maentel, a folk artist who lived in New Harmony, Indiana, for a time. Maentel is known for his distinctive portraits, which often captured not only people but also details of their lives, including a beloved pet like this one.

We're especially fond of the way this canine companion seems to be looking up at its owner, ready to follow wherever the day leads.

Interested in learning more about Maentel and his portraits of the Cooper family? Check out this article from Pennsylvania Folklife: https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1132&context=pafolklifemag

What would you name this dog? 🐶

📷 Portrait of John Cooper, 1842, by Jacob Maentel. Historic New Harmony Collection.

08/25/2026

One of our favorite things about New Harmony is discovering the perfect place to spend a quiet morning.

For some, that place is the Roofless Church. Today, we took a new book from the Atheneum Museum Shop along with us: "The Penguin Book of Spiritual Verse," a collection of poetry that spans centuries, cultures, and traditions.

The Roofless Church has welcomed people seeking reflection and inspiration for generations. With its shady trees and open-air sanctuary, it's also a wonderful place to sit with a good book and a few uninterrupted moments.

If this sounds like your kind of morning, you'll find The Penguin Book of Spiritual Verse waiting for you in the Atheneum Museum Shop.

📚 Available now for $19.

08/25/2026

There’s something special about New Harmony in late August. 🌿

The gardens are still blooming, the shade trees are at their fullest, and the weather is perfect for exploring one of Indiana’s most fascinating historic communities.

This week is a wonderful time to slow down, step outside, and discover New Harmony’s stories through one of Historic New Harmony’s guided tours. Ride through town on a tram tour, explore our historic sites with an expert guide, or begin your visit at the Atheneum with an introduction to New Harmony’s unique past.

We’re also proud to participate in the Blue Star Museums program, offering free admission and tours for active-duty military families through September 6.

📍 Tours depart from the Atheneum, 401 N. Arthur St. 📅 August 24-30, 2026

Whether it's your 1st visit or your 50th, we’d love to welcome you to New Harmony this week!

Learn more at www.usi.edu/hnh

08/21/2026

✨ Registration is now open! ✨

Two hundred years ago, New Harmony became the site of one of America's most ambitious experiments in community building. Today, that story continues to inspire conversations about how we live, learn, work, and create together.

Historic New Harmony is pleased to share that registration is now live for Innovative Communities: Past, Present, and Future, taking place November 12-15, 2026, in New Harmony, Indiana. As part of the Owen-Maclure 200th bicentennial, this conference will bring together scholars, community leaders, practitioners, and lifelong learners to explore the lessons of past communities, innovative approaches happening today, and the possibilities that lie ahead.

Are you interested in history, education, sustainability, civic engagement, or the future of community life? This conference offers an opportunity to connect with others and be part of a meaningful conversation in the very place where these ideas took root 200 years ago.

🎟 Attendance is limited to 150 participants.

📅 November 12-15, 2026
📍 New Harmony, Indiana

Learn more and register today: https://www.owenmaclure200.com/conference

✨ Registration is Now Open! ✨

What can we learn from communities that have dared to imagine a better future?

Join us in New Harmony, Indiana, November 12-15, 2026, for Innovative Communities: Past, Present, and Future, a conference that brings together scholars, community leaders, practitioners, and lifelong learners to explore how communities are built, sustained, and transformed. The event commemorates the bicentennial of New Harmony's historic Community of Equality while examining innovative approaches to community life today and the possibilities ahead.

Over four days of presentations, discussions, and networking, participants will consider lessons from past social experiments, discover current efforts to create stronger communities, and engage in conversations about the future of education, equity, sustainability, technology, and civic life.

Participation is limited to 150 attendees, so we encourage you to reserve your spot early.

🔹 November 12-15, 2026
📍 New Harmony, Indiana
🎟 Registration is now live

Register and learn more: https://www.owenmaclure200.com/conference

We hope you'll join us in New Harmony for an inspiring long weekend of ideas, conversation, and connection.



University of Southern Indiana
New Harmony Working Men's Institute
Communal Studies Association
Historic New Harmony
Visit Posey County
Visit New Harmony

08/20/2026

For , we're stepping back to the summer of 1921, when 32 children gathered for Elizabeth Fitzgerald's party in New Harmony, Indiana.

Captured by local photographer William F. Lichtenberger, this photograph preserves not only a special summer afternoon but also the names of many of the children who attended. A handwritten note on the back identifies the gathering as "Elizabeth Fitzgerald's Party. Summer 1921."

The daughter of one of the girls pictured, Miriam Muehler, later donated this photograph to Historic New Harmony and shared a memory of a local custom from her mother's childhood. She recalled that girls often attended tea parties with their mothers, and on this occasion Miriam would have been accompanied by her mother, Alma Ford. These gatherings offered families a chance to socialize, celebrate special occasions, and strengthen community ties.

More than a century later, this photograph reminds us that history is made up of everyday moments: childhood friendships, summer celebrations, and traditions shared from one generation to the next.

📸 Elizabeth Fitzgerald's Party, Summer 1921. Nancy Church Collection, Historic New Harmony Archives.

🔎 Take a closer look and see the names on the back of the photograph at https://historicnewharmony.catalogaccess.com/photos/3128