Historic New Harmony awarded over $2 million through Lilly Endowment initiative

The University of Southern Indiana's Historic New Harmony program has been awarded an implementation grant of more than $2 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. The funding is for support of Historic New Harmony’s Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative, in collaboration with Lilly Endowment. 

Through its broader Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative, Lilly Endowment has awarded grants totaling more than $86 million to museums and other cultural institutions across the United States to develop exhibitions and educational programs that fairly and accurately portray the role of religion in the U.S. and around the world. 

Historic New Harmony was awarded over $2 million for a project that includes the restoration and renovation of two historic buildings to be used as exhibition and programming space, development of a new permanent exhibit detailing the religious history of New Harmony and creation of community engagement programming, including a multi-day interfaith festival. The five-year grant also funds the development of a Collections and Exhibition Curator and student fellowship to work with exhibition design and programming.    

New Harmony was the site of two 19th century utopian communities. Founded in 1814 by a group of German Pietists under the leadership of Father George Rapp, the Harmonists sought religious freedom.  The second community, under the leadership of industrialist Robert Owen and his business partner William Maclure, hoped to establish a model community where education and social equality would flourish. In 1985, USI assumed management of Historic New Harmony, encouraging cultural and educational programs, while maintaining historic properties.   

“This initiative will expand our capacity to share New Harmony's rich cultural and spiritual heritage, and we are honored to receive Lilly Endowment’s support,” said Leslie Townsend, Director of Community Engagement and Historic New Harmony. “Funding will allow us to restore the John and Roxse Beal House into a permanent exhibition space and the former Doctor’s Office exhibit building into a community learning center which will benefit both visitors and residents of New Harmony.” 

​Historic New Harmony is an Outreach and Engagement program of the University of Southern Indiana. By preserving its utopian legacy, Historic New Harmony inspires innovation and progressive thought through its programs and collections. For more information, visit the website at USI.edu/hnh or contact Leslie Townsend, Director of Community Engagement and Historic New Harmony, at ltownsen@usi.edu or 812-465-7013.  

About Lilly Endowment  

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly, Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A primary aim of its grantmaking in religion is to deepen the religious lives of Christians, principally by supporting efforts that enhance congregational vitality and strengthen the leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment values the broad diversity of Christian traditions and endeavors to support them in a wide variety of contexts. The Endowment also seeks to foster public understanding about religion by encouraging fair, accurate and balanced portrayals of the positive and negative effects of religion on the world and lifting up the contributions that people of all faiths make to our greater civic well-being.