Greenhouse and Bakery

Greenhouse and Bakery. . Economy's Greenhouses , Because the Harmony Society took a deep interest in the cultivation of flowers and plants, members built a greenhouse in their second town, New Harmony, Indiana (1814-1825) and here their third town, Economy, Pennsylvania (1824-1830). William Owen noted in 1824 that the New Harmony, Indiana greenhouse was "so constructed that it can be rolled away in the summer time, leaving the trees open to the air." The gardeners also employed hotboxes laid on the ground. Not much more is known about the early Economy greenhouse, although one photo exists of its south facing view. , George W. Featherstonhaugh visited Economy in 1835 and reported that there was "a good, but unpretending conservatory, with oranges and lemons of a large size pendent from many of the trees, and various green-house plants in good order." , Early nineteenth century greenhouses were made of brick, stone, wood, and iron with small glass panes set into oversized windows. They usually had a solid wall on the north side with a south facing wall of glass windows that could be propped open as needed. Greenhouses had a stove at one end to heat the air, often through flues in a brick floor, which ended at a chimney on the opposite side of the building. , With developments in iron, glass, and heating methods through the nineteenth century, makers of greenhouses were able to create whole structures of glass, allowing more sun to reach the plants. The most well-known and successful company was Lord and Burnham of Irvington, New York (1849-1987), under the direction of Frederic A. Lord and his son-in-law William Addison Burnham. , In 1887, the Harmony Society ordered a greenhouse from Lord's Horticultural Manufacturing Company, as the company was known until 1890, to replace Economy's aging and outdated structure. The new Lord's greenhouse was oriented in a north-south direction to take the most advantage of the sun's movement throughout the day. By 1892, the Society leaders determined that they purchased a greenhouse from the Hitchings Company, a manufacturer of greenhouses since 1888, to add to the Lord structure, forming a T-shaped greenhouse. , It is unknown what became of Economy's grand greenhouse of the late nineteenth century. Evidence shows that it was present in 1905, but was gone by 1911. Greenhouses tended to perish when harsh storms passed through. One particular storm in April 1905 brought destruction from hail to greenhouses and other buildings from Pittsburgh to New Castle, Pennsylvania. Perhaps this is what happened at Economy. , , A Communal Bakery , Individual brick bake ovens were located on every street for the first fifty years of Economy. Each household took turns baking its week's worth of bread. Later, all baking was done in one central bakery at the location of today's greenhouse. Unbaked bread was stored in rye straw baskets waiting to be loaded into the oven with a very long handled paddle called a peel. One well-known item was Economy's Ginger Cakes - thin, flat, crisp cookies with scalloped edges. Another specialty was Harmonist pies made from schnitz - small pieces of dried fruit including apples, peaches, pears, and plums sprinkled with whiskey. Economy held parties for making schnitz, as well as sauerkraut, corn husking, and many other monontonous tasks. , In the mid-1890s the bakery was torn down to make a grander entrance to the new greenhouse. The bakery moved to the Bauder-Nagel house at 272 Thirteenth Street, a Harmonist double house.