At the beginning of the 19th century a German separatist religious cult transported itself to Western Pennsylvania which was then the backwoods of the American frontier. This communal tribe based on the teachings of the early Christian Church named its settlement Harmony. The Harmony Society became world famous in its time for successfully combining Christian Piety with the industrial revolution and the necessary agrarian way of life to become prosperous and self-sufficient. By the beginning of the 20th century the internal contradictions had eroded the harmony society to almost nothing. The stictly enforced celibacy, marriage was forbidden and pregnant women were banished, predictably led to a steady decline in population. The holdings of Harmony were eventually sold to the American Bridge Company which renamed the settlement Ambridge which is now a suburb of Pittsburgh. Several of the original buildings of the Harmony Society have been preserved by the Pennsylvania Historical Society in a section of Ambridge named Old Economy Village. ( The two photos above are Old Economy Village in the 19th century and Old Economy Village today) In spite of modern renovations the buildings give the visitor a good sense of this bold if somewhat misguided small scale social experiment.