The Working Men’s Institute was founded in 1838 by geologist William Maclure with the mission of “the dissemination of useful knowledge to those who work with their hands.”

At one time there were 160 such facilities located throughout Indiana and Illinois, but the original in New Harmony is the only one still in operation. 

Today, the Working Men’s Institute is Indiana’s longest continually operating library and houses a free natural history museum on the second floor, packed full of interesting specimens and the private collections of some of America’s pioneering geologists.