Improving and Embellishing the Wilderness”

Spreading the Gospel of Proper Land Use, New Harmony, Indiana, 1814–1824

Bibliographic Data

ID8923696
AuthorsPaul J Ramsey (Eastern Michigan University, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume50
Issue2
Pages146-166
Publication date2014-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducational Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0013-1946 • E-ISSN: 1532-6993
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00131946.2014.880921
OpenAlexW2050769874
LanguageEN
References cited20

This article examines the westward imposition of specific kinds of land use by focusing on the Harmony Society's transformation of Posey County, Indiana. The German pietistic society carried their vision of proper land use from Europe to Pennsylvania and, in 1814, to what was then considered the West: Indiana Territory. During their decade in Indiana, the Harmonists attempted to exploit, control, and beautify the natural environment. The goal of “improving and embellishing the Wilderness”—as well as survival and profit—provided the justification for clearing forests, draining wetlands, mining subsoil, planting crops, creating pastures, altering waterways, and hunting local fauna; all of these activities greatly transformed the ecosystems of southwestern Indiana. Ultimately, the Harmonists’ notions of land use were transmitted, learned, and, eventually, codified

Environmental ethics · Geography · Harmony (color · Harmony with nature · Paradise · Wilderness · American Environmental and Regional History · American History and Culture · Archaeology and Natural History · Ecology · History

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