Harmony sites earn recognition

By Amerigo Allegretto

Eagle Staff Writer

HARMONY — Two pieces of local history are now on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Mennonite Meetinghouse and cemetery on Wise Road were placed on the Federal Register earlier this month.

“We began work on the listing in 2012, and we were informed last week by the State Historic Preservation Office that it became official,” said Historic Harmony President John Ruch.

The cemetery was started in 1815 while the meetinghouse was built in 1825.

The meetinghouse was a place of worship for the Mennonites who settled in the early 1800s, and it could seat about 200. Ruch said it was the first Mennonite church west of the Alleghenies.

Men and women sat on opposite sides of the room.

The Mennonites were the “second founders” of the area after members of the Harmonist Society, who originally settled there, moved on.

An addition was built at the meetinghouse in 1830 for a kitchen and cloak room.

Worship services ceased in 1902 after attendance decreased.

The site is now adjacent to the David Ziegler Farmstead.

This year marks the 50th year for the National Historic Preservation Act, which encourages Americans to identify and preserve the United States’ cultural and historic resources.