HARMONY SOCIETY CEMETERY ON A FREEZING SPRING DAY
I had been waiting for the perfect spring day to visit the Harmony Society Cemetery in Harmony, PA. For the past three years, I had visions of quietly wandering this cemetery with lush green grass beneath my feet, flowers springing to life all around, birds swooping and chirping, and the sun warming my bones. Alas, this is western Pennsylvania we’re talking about. Early spring is a cruel time of year. Just when we all think the 60 degree days are here to stay… our hopes and dreams are squashed once more by an arctic blast or polar vortex or whatever the heck nonsense this weather is. Well, I was in the area on this particular, freezing cold day, and sometimes you just have to work with what you’ve got.
A brief history: The Harmony Society, a religious sect of Christianity, was founded in 1785 in Germany by Johann Georg Rapp. The group was formed after Rapp was persecuted by the Lutheran Church. Rapp and his followers packed up their things and traveled to America. In 1805, The Harmony Society was officially formed by about 400 members in Butler County, PA… quite a distance from its roots in Germany. The group moved around a bit, initially building a community in what is now Harmony, PA. After a time, they moved on to the territory that later became the state of Indiana, and, finally, they settled down in Economy, PA (known as Ambridge, or, Old Economy Village, today).
The Harmony Society Cemetery is truly unique. It is thought that more than 100 members of the Harmony Society’s first settlement are buried here, and all but one of those graves are unmarked. Johannes Rapp, the son of Harmony Society founder Johann Georg Rapp, is the only person buried at the site that has a commemorative stone honoring his life. Members of the Harmony Society believed they would be welcomed into heaven without needing postmortem recognition on Earth. In 1869, Mennonites were hired by the Harmonists to build the stone wall and revolving tablet gate that encloses the cemetery site in Harmony, PA.
Location: Harmony Society Cemetery • Edmond St, Zelienople, PA 16063