Harmony is a city in Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,080 at the 2000 census. The town bills itself as the "Biggest Little Town in Southern Minnesota" and features the largest Amish community in the state.

Geography

Harmony is located at 43°33′37″N 92°0′35″W / 43.56028°N 92.00972°W / 43.56028; -92.00972Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.1 square miles (3.0 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 1,080 people, 477 households, and 299 families residing in the city. The population density was 948.9 people per square mile (365.8/km²). There were 500 housing units at an average density of 439.3/sq mi (169.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.98% White, 0.19% African American, 0.09% Asian, 0.46% from other races, and 0.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.56% of the population.

There were 477 households out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.75.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.6% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 30.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,260, and the median income for a family was $38,750. Males had a median income of $27,188 versus $22,768 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,859. About 8.4% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.9% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Harmony, Minnesota
Harmony, Minnesota
City
	Location of Harmony, Minnesota
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Fillmore
Area
• Total	1.1 sq mi (2.9 km2)
• Land	1.1 sq mi (2.9 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	1,352 ft (412 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	1,080
• Density	948.9/sq mi (366.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	55939
Area code	507
FIPS code	27-27188Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	0644677Template:GR

Fillmore Central School District (#2198) is a public district that has one school in Harmony, the High School (9-12th grade). The Elementary (PK-4th grade) and the Middle School (5-8th grade) are located in nearby Preston. Fillmore Central's total enrollment for the school years of 2005-2006 are 641 students. Their predicted enrollment is 604 students for the school years of 2006-2007.

Tourism/Recreation

Harmony is often the starting point for a tour of Amish country and several companies provide guided tours, wagon rides and sleigh rides. The Harmony-Preston State Trail connects the town to the renowned Root River Trail system. The JEM Theatre, a recently renovated movie theater originally built in 1940, is the only one operating in Fillmore County.

Niagara Cave

Nearby Niagara Cave is one of the largest caves in the Midwest and features ancient fossils older than some dinosaurs, a 60 foot waterfall in the largest room in the cave, and a wedding chapel. There have been over 400 weddings in the cave since it opened. Outside the cave there are ten acres of camping grounds, a sluice box where tourists can mine for gems and fossils, and a gift shop with a selection of toys for children. There are also precious stones and large polished fossils. laa ddaa dee doo daa daa daa

Amish

Lifestyle

The main transportation for the Amish is horse and buggy. They do not own automobiles but will hire someone to drive them when it is necessary. Families do not use electricity in their homes.

History

Amish came to Minnesota because in Wayne County, Ohio in the 1970s they were becoming over-populated. They could buy land around here for $300-$700 an acre. Before that they had many hardships and moves since they came from Europe. They broke away from the Mennonites in 1693. Their founder was Jacob Amnan, a Swiss Mennonite bishop.

Housing

The buildings on an Amish farm are white. They have a windmill which is used for powering the water supply. The farmers grow or raise most of what the family eats. Crops are harvested by horse-drawn equipment, as gas-powered tractors are not used. The wives often tend a family garden to grow fruits and vegetables and can foods for the winter months. Because of the high cost and shrinking availability of land, some Amish have gone into trade or taken jobs in factories in town.

Education

Amish students attend a one-room schoolhouse until they are in eighth grade. The teacher is an|unmarried Amish woman. The children are taught English at school, but among each other they speak Pennsylvania Dutch church sermons are given in German.

Clothing

The Amish sometimes use bright colors for things like towels and blankets or barns but they do not use bright colors on their clothing. They wear teal, green, navy blue, burgundy, brown, and black. Buttons are used only on small girls' dresses non-decoratively. They instead prefer hook and eye closures, safety pins, and straight pins. Women wear capes and clothing with collars or lapels. Their preferred footwear is black shoes and they do not wear jewelry. Men and boys sometimes wear narrow standing collars with a hook and eye and heir undergarments and trousers have button closures. The boys that aren't toilet trained wear dresses. Their pants and jackets are denim. A man with no beard is a bachelor and a man with a long beard is married. If the beard is worn trimmed and only covering the jaw line, this means that the man is baptized.

External links