Harmony Society

The Harmony Society was a Christian theosophy and alchemist society founded in Iptingen, Germany, in 1785 or 1786. Due to religious persecution by the Lutheran Church, the Harmony Society moved to the United States in 1803-1804, eventually purchasing 3000 acres of land in Butler County, Pennsylvania. On February 15 1805, they, together with about 400 followers, formally organized the Harmony Society, placing all their goods in common.

The Society was founded and led by Johann Georg Rapp (1757-1847) and his adopted son, Frederick Rapp (1775-1834). The Harmony Society is best known for its worldly succeses, eventually bulding what were in effect three small cities, one at Harmony, near what is now Ambridge, Pennsylvania, another by a splinter group in nearby Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and the third in Illinois.