Ambridge

Ambridge: George Rapp House

Ambridge, borough (town), Beaver county, western Pennsylvania, U.S., on the Ohio River, just northwest of Pittsburgh. Within its boundaries is the former village of Economy (1824–1904) established by the communal Harmony Society, led by George Rapp. The Rappites (Harmonists) were religious immigrants from Württemberg, Germany, who had previously settled at Harmony, Pennsylvania, and Harmonie (now New Harmony, Indiana). The community prospered for about 50 years but declined largely because of the practice of celibacy. In 1901 the American Bridge Company, a manufacturer of structural steel, purchased 2,500 acres (1,012 hectares) of land from the Harmonists and established a town, which was incorporated as a borough in 1905; the name is a contraction of the company’s name. The state of Pennsylvania purchased (1919) many of the original Rappite buildings, which have been restored as the historical Old Economy Village. The bridge works closed in 1984, but steel pipe is still manufactured in the town. Pop. (2000) 7,769; (2010) 7,050.