Harmony Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in Susquehanna County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. The population was 512 at the 2020 census.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (0.89%) is water.

History

The area was first settled in 1789 when a road was built to connect Stockport on the Delaware River to the Susquehanna River at Cascade Creek. Harmony Township was formed in 1809 from parts of Willingborough (now Great Bend Twp) and New Milford Townships. The present-day Ararat,

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

, Jackson, and Thompson Townships were later split from parts of Harmony Township. The borough of Susquehanna Depot was created in 1853 from part of Harmony Township. Gustav, Charles, and Albert Stickley formed ''Stickley Brothers and Company'' in the unincorporated village of Brandt in 1883 after learning furniture-making from their uncle, Jacob Schlager, and his business partner, W. H. Brandt. The 1880 US Census shows Barbara Stickley and her famous sons, Gustav and Charles Stickley living there as Chair Makers. Charles later owned the Stickley - Brandt Furniture Co, in Binghamton, NY. Brother Gustav started his own furniture factory in Eastwood, New York in the late 1890s. Brothers Leopold and John George started the L. & J.G. Stickley Furniture Co. in Fayetteville, NY in 1900. The L. & J.G. Stickley Furniture Company is currently located in Manlius, New York.

Joseph Smith and Mormonism

Harmony, Pennsylvania, is an important historical site in the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...

Latter Day Saints The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...

believe that

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

and

Oliver Cowdery Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American religious leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first bapt ...

were visited by the angel of

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

near Harmony in 1829, where he bestowed on Smith and Cowdery the Aaronic priesthood. Smith and Cowdery subsequently baptized one another in the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

. Other significant events occurred there during the periodic residence of Smith from 1825 to 1830. Smith and his father boarded in the residence of Isaac Hale in 1825 while employed by a man named

Josiah Stowell Josiah Stowell Sr. (also spelled Stoal; 1770–1844) was an associate of Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint ...

to locate "a valuable mine of either Gold or Silver and also...coined money and bars or ingots of Gold or Silver" using Smith's presumed skills in the practice of

scrying Scrying, also referred to as "seeing" or "peeping," is a practice rooted in divination and fortune-telling. It involves gazing into a medium, hoping to receive significant messages or visions that could offer personal guidance, prophecy, revel ...

, or using "peep stones", to locate buried treasure by means of divination.; ; ; , ; ; It was during this time that Smith became acquainted with Hale's daughter, Emma Hale, whom he would later marry despite her parents' disapproval. In December 1827, Smith and Emma moved to Harmony from Manchester, New York, to work on the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

. Eventually they bought a small farm and house, where most of the Book of Mormon was produced between April 7 and early June 1829. The first convert baptism, that of Samuel H. Smith, took place there ten days after Smith and Cowdery had baptized each other. Smith also claimed that somewhere between Harmony and Colesville, New York, the apostles

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, James, and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

appeared to him and Cowdery and bestowed on them the Melchizedek priesthood. After Smith organized the

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * Christianity, the Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ * Christian Church, an ecclesiological term used by denominations to describe the true body of Christia ...

in 1830, Smith and Emma returned to Harmony and lived there through that summer. Of the many writings Smith claims were divine revelations received by prophecy and now recorded in the

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

, fifteen were written in Harmony. The Harmony in Latter Day Saint history refers to a

rather than a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

. The township boundary was changed in 1853, placing the Latter Day Saint sites in present-day Oakland Township. The site of the Hale residence, Smith residence (which burned in 1919), and a public cemetery containing the graves of Isaac and Elizabeth Hale and of an infant son born to Joseph and Emma, lie about a mile and a half west of present-day

, Pennsylvania, in Susquehanna County. Today,

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

owns about 288 acres at the location, and operates the Priesthood Restoration Site historic area. The historic site was developed in 2015 and includes a visitor center, the reconstructed Smith and Hale homes, and several monuments. The exact location of the restoration is not known.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 528 people, 214 households, and 151 families residing in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 350 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 99%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.2%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.2% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% some other race and 0.2% two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population. There were 214 households, out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.76. In the township, the population was spread out, with 17% under the age of 18, 65.4% from 18 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.6 years. The median income for a household in the township was $46,944, and the median income for a family was $78,750. Males had a median income of $40,208 versus $19,063 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $29,827. About 3.3% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Harmony Township

*Bethel Hill – A hamlet south of the township on Route 171 next to Comfort Pond. *Brandt – A hamlet crossing Starrucca Creek. *Devils Punch Bowl – A lake surrounded by steep cliffs. *Jefferson Junction – A Location between Brandt and Lanesboro on Starrucca Creek. *King Hill – A Geological Feature near the center of the township. *Melrose – A Hamlet between Stevens Point and Starrucca. *Riverview – A Riverside Community west of the township. *Round Hill – A Geological Feature north of the township. *State Game Lands 70 – A public land organized by the PGC. *Stevens Point – A hamlet between State Route 1011 and 1009. *Taylor Hill – A Geological Feature west of the township. *The Belize Fund Native American Cultural Center – A Cultural Center south of the township.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{authority control Latter Day Saint movement in Pennsylvania Townships in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania Significant places in Mormonism Populated places established in 1789 Townships in Pennsylvania 1789 establishments in Pennsylvania