Economy Historic District

Economy, on the Ohio River in present-day Ambridge, holds the surviving buildings of the Harmony Society, a German communitarian group that settled there in 1824 and developed a community that shaped the regional economy through much of the 19th century. Most of its buildings date from the Society's peak years, 1824 to 1840, and blend American and German design. The Feast Hall, completed in 1828, served as the community's meeting place, and the Great House, begun around 1826, was home to George Rapp and Frederick Rapp. The Harmonist church, built from 1828 to 1831, features a clock tower visible across the river. Frederick Rapp, the Society's business leader, directed manufacturing in wool, cotton, silk and whiskey, and the Society later invested in oil, railroads and the town of Beaver Falls. The Society was dissolved in 1905, and the state later acquired the museum grounds.