The Historic Site is open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Old Economy Village will close for the winter season on
Sunday, December 22nd, 2024
Learn more
Exhibits
The visitor center at Old Economy Village hosts multiple exhibits, including an orientation exhibit which tells more of the Harmonist story. See these before or after visiting the historic site, free of charge.
Building Economy: In Their Own Words
Celebrating Old Economy's Bicentennial, this exhibit tells about the trials of moving from Harmony, Indiana, to Economy, Pennsylvania in 1824. The struggles of building the town are related in the words of the Harmonists and others. The core of the town of Economy is now Old Economy Village in Ambridge, Pennsylvania.
Laboring for Harmonie
​Old Economy features an exhibit about labor within and related to the Harmony Society. Learn about indentured children, hired workers, and the Chinese laborers in the Beaver Falls Cutlery, a Harmonist investment.
Juxtaposed Right Here!
Capitalism and Communism
Often spoken of as a communal group, the Harmony Society was indeed communist. The early historians of the group liked to refer to it as "communism with a little c" as opposed to the larger Communist regimes of the twentieth century and beyond. They said the difference was that the Harmonist type of communism kept God in the equation.
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While the group lived communally, they were practiced capitalism externally with all of their industries and investments.
Orientation Exhibit
Preparing for Eternity:
The Life of the Harmony Society
The Visitor Center’s Orientation exhibit, “Preparing for Eternity: The Life of the Harmony Society”, tells the story of the Harmony Society, a religious communal society that came to America to freely-practice its religion. The Harmony Society signed the Articles of Agreement on February 15, 1805, in nearby Harmony, Pennsylvania. In 1824, the group settled the town of Economy, located in modern-day Ambridge.
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This exhibit traces the history of this prosperous group of people from its origins in Württemberg in modern-day Germany, the voyage to America, the establishment of the Society's three consecutive towns, and closure of the Society in 1905. The Harmonists played an instrumental part in the development of Pittsburgh, and surrounding regions. Their industries included the manufacture of wool, cotton, and silk textiles, as well as the production of wine, beer, whiskey, and other beverages.
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The group's financial investments ranged far and wide, from railroads and river travel, to coal, oil, and timber production. The Harmony Society also established the town of Beaver Falls with all of its businesses, and attracted Geneva College to re-establish itself in Beaver County.
This exhibit offers a great look into the lives and stories of this interesting group.
