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In 1831, the Countess and her husband came to the [[United States]] with a like-minded group of believers. The couple first joined a Rappite colony in Monaca in Beaver County, [[Pennsylvania]], but because of a schism they left that group and instead headed down the [[Ohio River]] southeast to Louisiana. They soon established their proclaimed "New Jerusalem" at Grand Ecore north of [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]]. When the Count and several other relatives died of [[cholera]], the Countess moved some eighty miles north from that location near the Red River to present-day Webster Parish.<ref name=lahist/>

In 1831, the Countess and her husband came to the [[United States]] with a like-minded group of believers. The couple first joined a Rappite colony in Monaca in Beaver County, [[Pennsylvania]], but because of a schism they left that group and instead headed down the [[Ohio River]] southeast to Louisiana. They soon established their proclaimed "New Jerusalem" at Grand Ecore north of [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]]. When the Count and several other relatives died of [[cholera]], the Countess moved some eighty miles north from that location near the Red River to present-day Webster Parish.<ref name=lahist/>

For nearly four decades, the colony flourished under a communal arrangement until it began to decline after the [[American Civil War]]. It dispersed in 1871, when Webster Parish was created from [adjacent Claiborne Parish to the immediate east.<ref>"Respect for the Past, Confidence in the Future," Webster Parish Centennial, 1871-1971, pp. 13-14.</ref> The Countess then relocated north to [[Hot Springs, Arkansas|Hot Springs]], [[Arkansas]], where she died in 1881.<ref>David James, III, "Germantown: Once Thriving and Socialistic," ''Minden Press,'' July 7, 1958, pp. 1-2.</ref>

For nearly four decades, the colony flourished under a communal arrangement until it began to decline after the [[American Civil War]]. It dispersed in 1871, when Webster Parish was created from adjacent Claiborne Parish to the immediate east.<ref>"Respect for the Past, Confidence in the Future," Webster Parish Centennial, 1871-1971, pp. 13-14.</ref> The Countess then relocated north to [[Hot Springs, Arkansas|Hot Springs]], [[Arkansas]], where she died in 1881.<ref>David James, III, "Germantown: Once Thriving and Socialistic," ''Minden Press,'' July 7, 1958, pp. 1-2.</ref>

One of three [[Utopia]]n Society settlements in North Louisiana, the Germantown Colony, located off Louisiana Highway 531, was the most successful and lasted the longest, having peaked at fifty to sixty pioneers but usually with fewer than forty. The settlement had been planned by Bernhard Müller, but he died at Grand Ecore on August 29, 1834, of [[yellow fever]].<ref>Brochure, Germantown Colony & Museum, 120 Museum Road, Minden, Louisiana 71055</ref><ref>A ''Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' attributes Berhnard Müller's death to [[cholera]].</ref>

One of three [[Utopia]]n Society settlements in North Louisiana, the Germantown Colony, located off Louisiana Highway 531, was the most successful and lasted the longest, having peaked at fifty to sixty pioneers but usually with fewer than forty. The settlement had been planned by Bernhard Müller, but he died at Grand Ecore on August 29, 1834, of [[yellow fever]].<ref>Brochure, Germantown Colony & Museum, 120 Museum Road, Minden, Louisiana 71055</ref><ref>A ''Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' attributes Berhnard Müller's death to [[cholera]].</ref>