Saundra Clem Leininger, Executive Director of the French Icarian Society, located in Corning, will present a program for the Cass County Genealogical Society’s monthly meeting this week, with regard to the six Icarian Colonies in America, and the French Icarian Village, near Corning.  The village was the longest-living Icarian community.

The 34-acre settlement features a restored cemetery, one-room school house and communal dining hall. A meeting about the Icarians will take place 1-p.m. Thursday, March 24^th,  in the meeting room at the Atlantic Public Library.  The program is free, and open to the public.

Historians say the colonies were part of a social experiment began in France in the 1840s. Texas, Louisiana, Illinois, Missouri and Iowa were locations for the non-religious communal experiment. The Iowa Icarian Colony located 3 miles east of Corning was established in 1852 and disbanded in 1898. Many descendants live in the area.

Everyone is invited to learn more about the remarkable Icarian story during this Thursday’s meeting, in Atlantic.