For investigators of the early roots of innovation in western Pennsylvania, a visit to Old Economy Village this spring may offer insights into the distinctive designs of the Harmony Society. That community of German immigrants and others recruited to their breakaway school of Lutheranism came to Western Pennsylvania to harmonize religious beliefs and commerce in the early 1800s.
A Christian communal society, Old Economy counted in its fold nearly 800 members at its height. The large Christian community of enterprising men and women wove textiles, spurred a lumber industry and developed a distinctive design of woodworking.
The adoption of celibacy to prepare for the Millennium unfortunately left the Harmonists with a dearth of successors. So the movement left behind landmarks instead, including the settlement’s Village, which the PA Historical and Museum Commission administers as one of 25 historic locations on the Pennsylvania Trail of History. There, homage is also paid to the community’s contribution to the development of the region’s industrial backbone. Harmonists were also investors in the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad–the rail line that fed ore from the Great Lakes region into the metal-making furnaces of the Monongahela Valley.
“The P&LE’s ownership eventually passed from the Harmonists to the Vanderbilts,” said Roberta Sunstein, Museum Education Supervisor and coordinator of an upcoming Trades Workshop. “The first President of the P&LE, Jacob Henrici, was a Trustee of the Society.”
As a relic of an industrial culture that emerged from Western Pennsylvania’s early 19th century wilderness, how was the place built? The Harmonist style of woodworking displayed throughout this National Historic Landmark site offers some clues to visitors this spring. Master Cabinetmaker Ron Lawrence of Cherry Tree Studios will lead a hands-on workshop on the Harmonist-style of woodworking April 25. (Reservations accepted through April 17th at 724-266-4500, x101.) Then, on May 2, Old Economy will open Harmony in Wood, an exhibit of the furniture and woodcrafts of the Harmonists. The exhibit celebrates the publication of a book on Harmonist woodworking later this year by furniture historian Philip Zimmerman.
Source: Old Economy Village, Roberta Sunstein
Writer: Joseph Plummer
To receive Keystone Edge free every week, click here.