The Harmony Society, a utopian community whose members believed the second coming of Christ would happen in their lifetimes, used this burying ground from 1803 to 1815. More than 100 Harmonists were buried at this site, but only one marker is easily located — that of Johannes Rapp, son of society founder George Rapp. As for the others, some historians conclude that the Harmonists believed their recognition would be found in heaven, so their graves in Pennsylvania did not need to be marked.
The Society eventually moved to Old Economy Village in nearby Beaver County, where a second Harmonist cemetery became the burial place for 594 members of the community. In 1869, after the society’s move, the stone wall at the original cemetery and unusual pivoting stone gate were added.
