The MacLeod Barn Abbey

The MacLeod Barn Abbey stands peaceful and serene at the edge of historic New Harmony, Indiana. Surrounded in a palette of green with a view of the Wabash River, the Barn Abbey is a place for meditation and offers solace to the mind, body and soul.

The Barn Abbey was inspired by the Very Reverend George MacLeod, a famous leader of the Iona Community in Scotland, during a meeting with New Harmony patron Jane Blaffer Owen. MacLeod’s ecumenical Christian community in Scotland sought new ways of living the Gospel.

Resolving to carry forward what she learned from MacLeod, Owen returned to New Harmony to create a similar Christian worship movement in the United States. Her goal was to build a structure at the edge of town to provide an interdenominational Christian Center to house this movement. Funds for the project were provided by the Robert Lee Blaffer Foundation. Lord MacLeod and the Reverend Dr. Elton Trueblood, a noted 20th century American Quaker author and theologian and former chaplain both to Harvard and Stanford universities, participated in the structure’s dedication in 1976. In the more than thirty years since its dedication, the Barn Abbey has fulfilled its mission by becoming a place for public and private spiritual renewal.

The Barn Abbey features two floors of bedrooms and can sleep a total of 29 people. Included on each floor are community bathrooms and showers. The blended wood used in the 1,000 square-foot meeting room and the large, adjacent dining room add a tangible presence of the structure’s history. The communal space can accommodate up to 50 people. The facility houses a kitchen that offers many of the modern conveniences needed to prepare group meals. Bed linens, bath linens, and kitchen facilities (including a coffee maker, ice machine, refrigerator, stove/oven, dishwasher, dishes, pots, pans and tableware) are provided. For an additional charge, tables and chairs can be set up to accommodate your group in the meeting room, if desired.

Sarah Campbell Blaffer Potter’s House

The Sarah Campbell Blaffer Potter’s House was built by the late Jane Blaffer Owen to honor the memory of her mother, Sarah Campbell Blaffer. The structure houses potter’s equipment and provides space for students studying ceramics and other artistic forms.

The Community House

The Community House on North Street is headquarters for the New Harmony Artists Guild.

The Poet’s House

The Poet House sits on the corner of Granary and West Streets across from the Rapp-Owen Granary. This guest house is an original framed Harmonist House and sits in its original location.

The Mother Superior House

The Mother Superior House sits on the corner of Main and Granary Streets next to Community House Dormitory II. The Log portion of the house is the original Harmonist Log Cabin, the brick portion was added when the Community House Dorm II was built and was used as the kitchen for Dorm II. The frame portion of Mother Superior House was added at a later time.