New Lanark attracted visitors from all over the world. Dale’s daughter (Caroline) married Robert Owen in 1799 and by 1800, Dale had sold the mills to a group of businessmen led by Robert Owen. Owen (often described as Utopian Socialist) saw New Lanark as a testing ground for what he called his New Social System – an experiment in communitarian living, where education was the key to character formation. He managed New Lanark for nearly 25 years, and the community continued to attract visitors from across the globe.