This town was founded by religious cultists who believed a period of peace was about to begin and that the oceans would turn to lemonade. When that didn't happen, they sold their estate to Spiritualists, many of whom were killed when their house was destroyed by a big flood in 1847. Submitted by: Andy

In 1844, Utopia was founded as a “perfect society” Fourierite Association of Clermont county, composed of twelve families from the East coast who purchased 1,140 acres for a commune and farm. For two years the families lived up to Sir Thomas Moore's mythical island of perfection. On a high piece of ground, the Utopians built a thirty-room brick house and several wooden dining halls. The association was founded on the principles of a Frenchman named Charles Fourier who believed the world would soon enter a 35,000-year period of peace and the world would become a loving place. When the world failed to change, the Association' s finances declined and the group disbanded. The land and buildings were sold to a spiritualist named John Wattles with one hundred followers. By the middle of December, 1847, they moved into a new building despite the warnings of river people that the building would be destroyed by flood. No one would listen. Wattles had scheduled a dance in the new building on the evening of December 13 th . The river had already started to rise from strong rains but no one seemed to care. About 8 o'clock that evening the walls collapsed under a torrent of water. The river washed away the building and those who were in it at the time. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.