In 1832 the society was incorporated under the laws of Ohio, and until
its dissolution it was managed as a corporation. A few Germans joined
the society. No American ever requested admission. Joseph Bimeler was
elected Agent General and thereby became the chosen as well as the
natural leader of the community. Like other patriarchs of that epoch
who led their following into the wilderness, he was a man of some
education and many gifts. He was the spiritual mentor; but his piety,
which was sincere and simple, did not rob him of the shrewdness
necessary to material success. His followers were loyally devoted to
him. They built for him the largest house in the community, a fine
colonial manor house, where he dwelt in comparative luxury and reigned
as their "King." When he died in 1853 he had seen the prosperity of
his colony reach its zenith. It remained small. Scarcely more than
three hundred members ever dwelt in the village which, in spite of its
profusion of vines and flowers, lacked the informal quaintness and
originality of Rapp's Economy. The Tuscarawas River furnished power
for their flour mill, whose products were widely sought. There was
also a woolen mill, a planing mill, a foundry, and a machine shop. The
beer made by the community was famous all the country round, and for a
time its pottery and tile works turned out interesting and quaint
products. But one by one these small industries succumbed to the
competition of the greater world. At last even an alien brew
supplanted the good local beer. When the railroad tapped the village,
and it was incorporated (1884) and assumed an official worldliness
with its mayor and councilmen, it lost its isolation, summer visitors
flocked in, and a "calaboose" was needed for the benefit of the
sojourners!

The third generation was now grown. A number of dissatisfied members
had left. Many of the children never joined the society but found work