The Old Harmony Community Quakers Abolition and Th 001

The Old Harmony Community: Quakers, Abolition, and the Underground Railroad in Greene County

Drive the winding rural roads east of Greeneville, and you’ll pass more hayfields than houses, but look a little deeper and you’ll find traces of one of Greene County’s most quietly heroic chapters: the story of the Old Harmony Community, the Quakers who settled here, and their underground fight against slavery.
The Quaker Arrival: Peaceful Dissenters in Rough Territory

The Religious Society of Friends—better known as Quakers—started moving into what would become Greene County in the 1780s and 1790s. Seeking religious freedom, they built communities centered on equality, peace, and education. The Old Harmony Meetinghouse, founded around 1805, became their anchor, with a plain wooden building and a tiny cemetery, both still visible on Harmony Road today.

Abolition in a Slave State

Tennessee was a slave state, but the Quakers in Harmony stood against the tide. Early Greene County records show them refusing to pay taxes that funded slavery or militias, freeing enslaved people, and petitioning state leaders to end bondage. Their beliefs put them at odds with neighbors, but their community quietly grew.
The Underground Railroad: Greene County’s Hidden Highway

Harmony Quakers played a direct role in the Underground Railroad, that legendary network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved people escaping to freedom.

How It Worked Locally: Oral histories and a handful of old letters describe hidden rooms in barns, coded lantern signals, and secret trails through the Nolichucky River bottoms. Local tradition claims that escaped slaves were guided from Harmony up through what’s now Greeneville, into the hills toward Virginia or north to free states.

Risk and Courage: Quakers risked arrest, violence, and being driven out for helping fugitives. Some were fined, others lost property, but their commitment rarely wavered.

Real-World Scenarios

Genealogy and Family Ties: Many Greene County families can trace ancestors to Quaker lines—or to those they helped rescue. If you find a “Harmon” or “Coffin” in your family tree, you might have a direct link.

Historical Tours: You can still visit the Harmony Meetinghouse site and graveyard. The building is plain, but the history is anything but.

Modern Relevance: Today, Harmony’s story is a reminder that local resistance can change the course of history, even in places far from the spotlight.

Classic Recipe: “Underground Railroad” Molasses Bread

Many Quaker homes served hearty, simple breads. Molasses bread was common, nutritious, and easy to hide in travel packs for those on the run.

Molasses Bread

2 cups flour

1 cup cornmeal

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup molasses

1 cup buttermilk

Mix dry ingredients. Stir in molasses and buttermilk. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes. Serve warm, with butter—just as it would have been on a cold night in Harmony, waiting for word that all was safe.

Why Old Harmony Still Matters

The story of Old Harmony isn’t just old news—it’s a living lesson in how Greene County’s patchwork of faith, courage, and quiet resistance shaped who lives here now. The Meetinghouse and its silent graves still stand as proof that small, determined communities can push back against injustice.