Germantown Colony and Museum
Encyclopedia
Germantown Colony and Museum is an historical preservation project north of Minden
in Webster Parish
in northwestern Louisiana
, USA. It was among three sites in Louisiana founded by former members of the Utopia
n Movement called the Harmony Society
in the early 19th century. The original colonists came from Germany
, having first settled in Harmony
, Pennsylvania
, in 1803, then in New Harmony
, Indiana
in 1814, and finally in Economy
(now Ambridge
, Pennsylvania) in 1825.
About 250 former members of the Harmony Society, many of whom left Economy, Pennsylvania during 1832, decided to leave because of disagreements over the society's custom of celibacy
, and so they followed a man named Bernhard Müller
, who called himself "Count de Leon". Their first settlement of the New Philadelphian Congregation, established by the New Philadelphia Society, was planted in 1832 in Phillipsburg (now Monaca
), Pennsylvania. Perhaps because of ongoing litigation, and other financial problems, Müller's group decided to sell their communal
land in Pennsylvania
in 1833. Some community members stayed, while others followed Müller and his family down the Ohio River
on a flatboat
. Soon they started again at Grand Ecore
, twelve miles north of Natchitoches
, Louisiana. There Müller died and was interred in Natchitoches Parish. When the Count died, a congressman
obtained passage of a bill donating a tract of land to the colonists and to Countess Leon
, the Count's widow. The roots of the Germantown Colony were hence established.
In 1835, the group, then led by Müller's widow, the Countess, settled seven miles (11 km) northeast of Minden in what was then Claiborne Parish
. For nearly four decades, the colony operated on a communal
basis until it dispersed in 1871, when Webster Parish was created from Claiborne Parish. The Countess then moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas
, where she died in 1881.
One of three Utopia
n Society settlements in this area, the Germantown Colony, located off Louisiana Highway 531, was the most successful and lasted the longest, having peaked at fifty to sixty pioneers but usually with fewer than forty followers. The settlement had been planned by the Countess' husband, who died on August 29, 1834, of yellow fever
at Grand Ecore near Natchitoches, before he ever reached the intended Webster Parish.
Leon and his followers attempted to build an earthly utopia, socialist
in practice, while awaiting for the Second Coming of Christ. For his religious views, Leon had been exiled from Germany. He intended to plant the settlement in Webster Parish to coincide with the latitude
of Jerusalem, 31 degrees, 47 minutes. The colonists worshiped under oak
trees at the center of the colony. They supported themselves from farming, with a concentration on cotton. There was also navigation nearby on the lower Dorcheat Bayou
from Lake Bistineau
to Minden.
In 1973, descendants of the colonists, including Chester Phillip Krouse (1899–1981) and his sister, Ruby Florence Krouse (1906–2005), donated an acre of land to the Webster Parish Police Jury, equivalent to county commission
in other states. Three of the original buildings, the Countess’ cabin, the kitchen-dining hall, and the Dr. Goentgen cottage, survive at the site. The general store
no longer exists. Replicas have been constructed of the smokehouse
and the blacksmith
shop. The buildings contain items used by the early settlers. There is also a sugar cane press outside. Some of the original wallpaper remains in the large room of the Countess’ cottage, paper which she had ordered from New Orleans
to cover the rough walls. A refined woman, the Countess gave piano
instruction to girls and young women in her cottage.
The small Germantown Cemetery at the site holds the remains of many of the settlers. Tombstone information reveals that a number were born in Germany. In some cases, the cause of death is listed on the markers.
The Germantown Museum opened on May 10, 1975, with former Governor Robert F. Kennon
, a Minden native, in attendance. In 1979, the colony was placed on the list of the "Cultural Resources Worthy of Preservation" by the United States Department of the Interior
. As Germantown, the village was listed in 1979 on the National Register of Historic Places
.
In 2008, the Louisiana State Legislature
under Act 847 declared it appropriate for the state to operate the Germantown Colony and Museum. On July 1, 2009, the museum switched from parish to state control. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. A Bluegrass music
festival is held annually the last Saturday of September. The facility is closed during winter. There is no admission.
Germantown Colony is featured in two 1977 articles in the publication North Louisiana History
, based in Shreveport
. Pauline Jennings penned "Elisa Leone: First Lady of the Germantown Colony," in Vol. 8, No.2 (Winter 1977), pp. 43-51. Rita Moore Krouse wrote "The Germantown Store" in the same edition, pp. 53-64.
Related Webster Parish history is also featured in the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum
in Minden.
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
in Webster Parish
Webster Parish, Louisiana
Webster Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. In 2010, its population was 41,207....
in northwestern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, USA. It was among three sites in Louisiana founded by former members of the Utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n Movement called the Harmony Society
Harmony Society
The Harmony Society was a Christian theosophy and pietist society founded in Iptingen, Germany, in 1785. Due to religious persecution by the Lutheran Church and the government in Württemberg, the Harmony Society moved to the United States on October 7, 1803, initially purchasing of land in Butler...
in the early 19th century. The original colonists came from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, having first settled in Harmony
Harmony, Pennsylvania
Harmony is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 937 at the 2000 census. It is located about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.-Geography:...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, in 1803, then in New Harmony
New Harmony, Indiana
New Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana, United States. It lies north of Mount Vernon, the county seat. The population was 916 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Evansville metropolitan area. Many of the old Harmonist buildings still stand...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
in 1814, and finally in Economy
Old Economy Village
Old Economy Village is a historic settlement in Ambridge, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. Administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, it lies on the banks of the Ohio River and is surrounded by downtown Ambridge...
(now Ambridge
Ambridge, Pennsylvania
Ambridge is a borough in Beaver County in Western Pennsylvania, incorporated in 1905 and named after the American Bridge Company. Ambridge is located 16 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, alongside the Ohio River. In 1910, 5,205 people lived in Ambridge; in 1920, 12,730 people lived there, and in...
, Pennsylvania) in 1825.
About 250 former members of the Harmony Society, many of whom left Economy, Pennsylvania during 1832, decided to leave because of disagreements over the society's custom of celibacy
Celibacy
Celibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...
, and so they followed a man named Bernhard Müller
Bernhard Müller
Bernhard Müller, known as Count de Leon , was a German Christian mystic and alchemist of uncertain origins....
, who called himself "Count de Leon". Their first settlement of the New Philadelphian Congregation, established by the New Philadelphia Society, was planted in 1832 in Phillipsburg (now Monaca
Monaca, Pennsylvania
Monaca is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States along the Ohio River, northwest of Pittsburgh. Monaca was first incorporated as Phillipsburg in 1840, and had been known by that name since the 1820s. In 1892, the name of the borough was changed to Monaca in honor of the Native...
), Pennsylvania. Perhaps because of ongoing litigation, and other financial problems, Müller's group decided to sell their communal
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
land in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in 1833. Some community members stayed, while others followed Müller and his family down the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
on a flatboat
Flatboat
Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with (mostlyNOTE: "(parenthesized)" wordings in the quote below are notes added to...
. Soon they started again at Grand Ecore
Grand Ecore, Louisiana
Grand Ecore is an unincorporated community on the Red River in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located approximately eight miles north of Natchitoches and west of Clarence....
, twelve miles north of Natchitoches
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...
, Louisiana. There Müller died and was interred in Natchitoches Parish. When the Count died, a congressman
obtained passage of a bill donating a tract of land to the colonists and to Countess Leon
Countess Leon
Countess Leon, or Elisa Heuser Leon , was a founder and leader of the communal Germantown Colony established in 1835 north of Minden in the U.S. state of Louisiana....
, the Count's widow. The roots of the Germantown Colony were hence established.
In 1835, the group, then led by Müller's widow, the Countess, settled seven miles (11 km) northeast of Minden in what was then Claiborne Parish
Claiborne Parish, Louisiana
Claiborne Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Homer and as of 2000, the population is 16,851.-History:The parish is named for the first Louisiana governor, William C. C. Claiborne....
. For nearly four decades, the colony operated on a communal
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
basis until it dispersed in 1871, when Webster Parish was created from Claiborne Parish. The Countess then moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
, where she died in 1881.
One of three Utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n Society settlements in this area, the Germantown Colony, located off Louisiana Highway 531, was the most successful and lasted the longest, having peaked at fifty to sixty pioneers but usually with fewer than forty followers. The settlement had been planned by the Countess' husband, who died on August 29, 1834, of yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
at Grand Ecore near Natchitoches, before he ever reached the intended Webster Parish.
Leon and his followers attempted to build an earthly utopia, socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
in practice, while awaiting for the Second Coming of Christ. For his religious views, Leon had been exiled from Germany. He intended to plant the settlement in Webster Parish to coincide with the latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
of Jerusalem, 31 degrees, 47 minutes. The colonists worshiped under oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
trees at the center of the colony. They supported themselves from farming, with a concentration on cotton. There was also navigation nearby on the lower Dorcheat Bayou
Dorcheat Bayou
Dorcheat Bayou, also known as Bayou Dorcheat, is a stream in the USA that extends from Nevada County in southwestern Arkansas through Columbia County and into Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana before emptying into Lake Bistineau east of the village of Doyline. To its south, Lake Bistineau...
from Lake Bistineau
Lake Bistineau
250px|right|thumb|Lake Bistineau south of [[Doyline, Louisiana|Doyline]], [[Louisiana]]Lake Bistineau is a long, narrow waterway of , wide and long located in Webster, Bossier, and Bienville parishes in northwestern Louisiana. The lake is fed by Dorcheat Bayou, Clark’s Bayou, and other smaller...
to Minden.
In 1973, descendants of the colonists, including Chester Phillip Krouse (1899–1981) and his sister, Ruby Florence Krouse (1906–2005), donated an acre of land to the Webster Parish Police Jury, equivalent to county commission
County commission
A county commission is a group of elected officials charged with administering the county government in local government in some states of the United States. County commissions are usually made up of three or more individuals...
in other states. Three of the original buildings, the Countess’ cabin, the kitchen-dining hall, and the Dr. Goentgen cottage, survive at the site. The general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
no longer exists. Replicas have been constructed of the smokehouse
Smokehouse
A smokehouse is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more.-History:...
and the blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
shop. The buildings contain items used by the early settlers. There is also a sugar cane press outside. Some of the original wallpaper remains in the large room of the Countess’ cottage, paper which she had ordered from New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
to cover the rough walls. A refined woman, the Countess gave piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
instruction to girls and young women in her cottage.
The small Germantown Cemetery at the site holds the remains of many of the settlers. Tombstone information reveals that a number were born in Germany. In some cases, the cause of death is listed on the markers.
The Germantown Museum opened on May 10, 1975, with former Governor Robert F. Kennon
Robert F. Kennon
Robert Floyd Kennon, Sr., known as Bob Kennon , was the 48th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1952-1956. He failed to win a second non-consecutive term in the 1963 Democratic primary....
, a Minden native, in attendance. In 1979, the colony was placed on the list of the "Cultural Resources Worthy of Preservation" by the United States Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
. As Germantown, the village was listed in 1979 on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
In 2008, the Louisiana State Legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
under Act 847 declared it appropriate for the state to operate the Germantown Colony and Museum. On July 1, 2009, the museum switched from parish to state control. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. A Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
festival is held annually the last Saturday of September. The facility is closed during winter. There is no admission.
Germantown Colony is featured in two 1977 articles in the publication North Louisiana History
North Louisiana History
North Louisiana History is an academic journal published twice annually in Shreveport, Louisiana by the North Louisiana Historical Association .-History:...
, based in Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
. Pauline Jennings penned "Elisa Leone: First Lady of the Germantown Colony," in Vol. 8, No.2 (Winter 1977), pp. 43-51. Rita Moore Krouse wrote "The Germantown Store" in the same edition, pp. 53-64.
Related Webster Parish history is also featured in the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum
Dorcheat Historical Association Museum
The Dorcheat Historical Association Museum is a preservation of 19th and 20th century north Louisiana history and culture located off U.S. Highway 80 in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. Highway 80, an early road linking the American South with the Pacific Coast, was...
in Minden.