Welcome…

  • Our Mission

    The Robert Lee Blaffer Foundation was created to preserve, promote and support, financially, and otherwise, the various historic and educational attributes of New Harmony, Indiana, and the Part of Posey County, Indiana, that is immediately adjacent to and historically or culturally related to the Town of New Harmony.

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  • Recent Grants

    The Robert Lee Blaffer Foundation, Inc. recently awarded a total of twenty-four (24) grants to Tri-State not-for-profit organizations, making more than $125,000 available in funds and in-kind services.

    The funded programs meet the Foundation’s purpose...

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  • The Roofless Church
  • Carols Garden and the Fountain of Life
  • The Cathedral Labyrinth
  • Chapel of the Little Portion (St. Francis Chapel)
  • The MacLeod Barn Abbey
  • Mother Superior House & Adjoining Community House No. 2
  • The Sarah Campbell Blaffer Potter's House
  • The Poet's House
  • The Community House
  • The Barrett-Gate House
  • Paul Tillich Park

  • Philharmonic Concert

    A generous grant from the Robert Lee Blaffer Foundation and a major contribution from Evansville resident Genevieve B. Bootz made possible the presentation of George Frideric Handel’s oratorio “Messiah” on Sunday, December 12, 2010. 
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  • Art Day Camp

    Children, ages five through eight, test their creative skills at a Foundation sponsored Summer Art Camp.



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  • The New Harmony Project

    The New Harmony Project encourages the creation, nurturing and promotion of new works for stage, television and film that sensitively and truthfully explore the positive aspects of life.

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These Properties Support Our Mission

We have several rental properties available that help support our mission. The list below includes properties we have available for rent. If you are interested reserving an area, contact Chris Laughbaum at 812-682-3050 or use our Contact Form. Click on the property desired for additional information:



Rapp Granary-Owen Foundation

In 1992, the Rapp Granary-Owen Foundation was established as a 501(c)(3) to become the owner, restorer and operator of the Rappite Granary, the massive sandstone, brick and wood structure built on the west side of New Harmony in 1818. After seven arduous years, the completion of the Granary's restoration was celebrated on October 8 - 10, 1999, with the structure opening for the enjoyment and instruction of townspeople and awareness of visitors. Today, travelers from all over the world study its majestic spaces, admire its solid beams, and are amazed by its restored grandeur. Yet, less than twenty years ago, this majestic structure stood in disrepair, its past shrouded in mystery and hidden beneath massive brick and broken decay. Recognition for its adaptive restoration must be attributed to a small group of tenacious men and one remarkable woman.

The Rapp-Owen Granary is now the site of weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, anniversary celebrations, business meetings, musical presentations, seminars, professional workshops and academic sessions.

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For information about tours or rental availability, please call Chris Laughbaum at
1-812-682-3050 or use our Contact Form.

Jane Blaffer Owen:
Our Founder

Jane Blaffer Owen CBE (1915 2010) was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Robert Lee Blaffer and Sarah Campbell Blaffer. Her father helped start the Humble Oil Company, now Exxon, and her maternal grandfather was a founder of the Texas Oil Company, formally known as Texaco.

She grew up traveling the world, and in 1933, graduated from the Ethel Walker School in Connecticut. She studied at Bryn Mawr, the Washington School of Diplomacy, and the Union Theological Seminary in New York.

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