HARMONY — George Rapp and the Harmonists founded Harmony in 1804, but they didn’t stay long.

Ten years later they moved about 500 miles west and founded another town, now called New Harmony, in southwest Indiana.

In acknowledgment of their common roots, representatives of New Harmony in 2004 presented Harmony with a gift at its bicentennial celebration. Then last weekend Harmony returned the favor.

In a trip organized by Historic Harmony, 14 people traveled to New Harmony to present the community a handmade weaving in honor of that town’s bicentennial.

The group traveled with people from Zoar, Ohio, another town founded by Lutheran separatists from the same region of Germany.

The weaving was made by museum volunteers using materials, technology and methods that would have been used by the Harmonists, Historic Harmony President John Ruch said.

New Harmony’s bicentennial gift to Harmony was a decorative redware platter made in the style of the Harmonist era. This gave Harmony residents the idea to reciprocate with another historic-style gift, Ruch said.

The gift was well-received, museum administrator Kathy Luek said.

“They were really impressed the amount of research that the weavers put in to making this in the same manner and style that the Harmonists would have used,” she said.

One New Harmony landmark they visited was a re-creation of its original labyrinth.

Each Harmonist town had a labyrinth made of hedges that had a small shelter in its center meant for mediation. The one in New Harmony is at a different location than the original, but was reconstructed in the same style.

Despite their common beginnings, the two communities followed different paths through history. After the Harmonists left Harmony, Mennonites moved into the community and led an agrarian lifestyle and built many of the historic buildings still intact today.

New Harmony was purchased by Robert Owen in 1825. Owen, a Welsh social reformer, was the first to call the town “New Harmony” and tried to establish a utopian community, which failed after two years.

The community later became known for its cultural institutions.

Both historic groups study their communities’ 200 years of history, but with a focus on the earliest days, which gives them common ground.

“Despite the distance between us, we’ve had a longtime relationship. They’ve always been interested in what we’ve had going on here, and we’re interested in what they’re doing,” Ruch said.