Editing Harmony Society (section)

=== Architecture ===

The Harmony Society's architecture reflected their [[Swabia]]n [[Germans|German]] traditions, as well as the styles that were being developed in America during the 19th century. In the early days of the Society, many of the homes were initially log cabins and later, Harmonist craftsmen built timber-frame homes. At Economy, their homes were mostly two-story brick houses "that showed the influence of their American neighbors."<ref>Don Blair, "Harmonist Construction. Principally as found in the two-story houses built in Harmonie, Indiana, 1814–1824," ''[[Indiana Historical Society]] Publications'' 23, no. (1964): 81.</ref> In general, Harmonist buildings, in addition to being sturdy and functional, were centrally heated, economical to maintain, and resistant to fire, weather, and termites.<ref>Blair, p. 82.</ref>

Once established at Harmony, Pennsylvania, the Society planned to replace the log dwellings with brick structures, but the group moved to the Indiana Territory before the plan was completed.<ref name="Arndt, p. 109">Arndt, ''George Rapp's Harmony Society'', p. 109.</ref> In Indiana, log homes were soon replaced with one- or two-story houses of timber frame or brick construction in addition to four large rooming houses (dormitories) for its growing membership. The new town also included shops, schools, mills, a granary, a hotel, library, distilleries, breweries, a brick kiln, pottery ovens, barn, stables, storehouses, and two churches, one of which was brick.<ref>Blair, p. 49–50.</ref>

In 1822 William Herbert, a visitor to Harmony, Indiana, described the new brick church and the Harmonists' craftsmanship:

"These people exhibit considerable taste as well as boldness of design in some of their works. They are erecting a noble church, the roof of which is supported in
the interior by a great number of stately columns, which have been turned from
trees in their own forests. The kinds of wood made use of for this purpose are, I
am informed, black walnut, cherry and sassafras. Nothing I think can exceed the
grandeur of the joinery and the masonry and brickwork seem to be of the first
order. The form of this church is that of a cross, the limbs being short and equal;
and as the doors, which there are four, are placed at the end of the limbs, the
interior of the building as seen from the entrance, has a most ample and spacious effect.... I could scarcely imagine myself to be in the woods of Indiana, on the borders of the Wabash, while pacing the long resounding aisles, and surveying the stately colonnades of this church."<ref name=usi/>

Frame structures were built on piers to keep the air circulating across the area's damp soil, while brick structures had a root cellar with a drainage tunnel. Inside, Harmonists built fireplaces to the left or right of center to allow for a long center beam, adding strength to support the structure and its heavy, shingled roof. "Dutch biscuits" (wood laths wrapped in straw and mud) provided insulation and soundproofing between the ceiling and floors. The exterior was insulated with bricks between the exterior's unpainted weatherboards and the interior's lath and plaster walls.<ref>Blair, p. 52–54, 76.</ref> Structures had standard parts and pre-cut, pre-measured timbers, which were assembled on the ground, adjusted to fit on site, raised in place, and locked into place with pegs and mortise and tenon joints.<ref>Blair, p. 57.</ref> Two-story floor plans for homes included a large living room, kitchen, and entrance hall, with stairs to the second floor and attic. In Indiana, Harmonists did their baking in communal ovens, so stoves could be substituted for fireplaces.<ref>Blair, p. 66, 71, 73.</ref>