We've never been to Koreshan State Park with THE POD, but have camped here in tents several times previous to hitting the road. It's funny how I remember the campground having big roomy campsites when sleeping here in a tent, but we barely squeezed ROVER and THE POD into our site this time around.
Teed took the name "Koresh", the Hebrew translation of his name Cyrus, meaning shepherd. The cult's beliefs included ideals of celibacy, community, and equality to attain immortality. Teed described God as a hybrid of male and female, due to this belief, he and the cult as a whole were very open to feminism and the equality between the sexes.
Koreshanity was more popular with women than men due to their belief in gender equality. Nearly 75% of the followers were women. Women shared the same duties as men and were treated as equals in the community. Skills and interests determined labor duties instead of gender. This was unique in the Victorian era where women were more commonly seen as the property of their husbands. Koreshans would also protect those women members who had left their husbands to join the Unity. The Koreshan governing body, the Planetary Court, was made up of seven highly educated women. Koreshanity gave women work opportunities and leadership roles that would have been unavailable to them otherwise.
Koresh obtained a 320-acre plot for his socialist utopia by converting Florida homesteader Gustav Damkohler over to Koreshanity beliefs. The Unity paid Mr. Damkohler just $200 for 300 acres of his land, but when he converted he gave the Unity his remaining 20-acres that he intended to reserve for his son. All Unity members had to turn over their worldly possessions, including furniture, jewelry, land and money.
The community was at its peak from 1903–1908, when it had over 250 residents. Membership steadily declined following Teed's death in 1908. By that time they had built a bakery, a printing house, a general store, concrete works, a power plant (supplying power to the surrounding area years before it was available elsewhere in the region) and more. The community was also extensively landscaped.
In 1961, the last four members of the cult deeded the 305 acres of their land to the state so that today the site of the Koreshan Unity is not only a State Park, but a State Historic Site.
You can walk around the settlement without a guide for free, but access to some of the buildings is not permitted and you don't get the benefit of a narrated tour provided by a knowlegable Volunteer. I'm hopeful our $20 will go to a worthwhile cause and be well spent.
THE KORESHAN UNITY SETTLEMENT TOUR
|
||||||||
This painting shows what the Koreshan Unity was aspiring to, a city of 10-million followers.
|
||||||||
Inside the "Art Hall" were several pieces used by the Koreshan members during performances.
|
||||||||
This 1890s Steinway Grand Piano was brought down from Chicagoand then transported up the narrow Estero River on a small barge.
|
||||||||
This is home of Gustav Damkohler, the person who originally owned the Koreshan property.
|
||||||||
Inside of the home was very modest, even for the 1890s.
|
||||||||
This was the more elaborate home of the leader, Cyrus Teed.
|
||||||||
It was a lot more elegant on the inside than his follower's residences were.
|
||||||||
This is the inside view of the bakery.
|
||||||||
This was the home of the medical care person and his office inside the second door.
|
||||||||
The living quarters of the doctor/dentist.
|
||||||||
The medical office was eventually converted into a bedroom.
|
||||||||
This large diesel engine was the type that could run the entire workshop.
|
||||||||
These next few photos are of the large machine shop.
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
The front of the large "open air" blacksmith's shop.
|
||||||||
Inside this building is were they generated electricity by steam engine.
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
This is the exterior of the small machine shop...
|
||||||||
...that was used up until the early 1920s.
|
||||||||
This was the home of the seven women who comprised the Planetary Court.
|
||||||||
The seven highly educated women lived on both the first and second floor of the building.
|
||||||||
Inside great care was given to the construction and appearance of the building.
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
This is one of the downstairs bedrooms open for public viewing.
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
At the conclusion of our 2-hour tour of the Settlement, we had just enough time to grab lunch and drive 17-miles north up I-75 to Fort Myers where we visited with Tricia's aunt and uncle.
After several hours of conversation out on their rear patio overlooking the community lake, we ordered a couple of pizzas to be delivered from Tricia's favorite pizza place, Mellow Mushroom.
It didn't take long for the pizza to all but disappear, but there was just enough left overs for us to take home and enjoy all over again for lunch on Sunday.
Our day started with a trip to Costco to fill up ROVER's tank with $2.78 gasoline. We are headed back over to the east coast of Florida to attend the retirement party for several of my friends from my final workplace.
After 40-years of building a successful printing business, my employer finally decided it was time for himself to retire. I believe he is 66 years old now. He may have sold the business, but retained ownership of the building, effectively becoming their landlord.
Two other long time employees decided to follow his lead and also retire, both of them in their late sixties. One of them will also begin their fulltime traveling lifestyle like we did.
We spent about 3½-hours chatting with all my previous workmates about the last 6-years since my retirement, we also spent some time recounting stories that occurred during the 10-years I spent working with them.
In order to do that I'm going to need some fuel, not for ROVER but for myself.
Tricia found a wonderful place just up the road to have breakfast. It's called the FK Your Diet Restaurant. Now the FK doesn't stand for what you're probably thinking, although the deliciously greasy menu items sure do tend to support that thought.
The FK in the name stands for Foster Kids. It's a small chain, 4 locations, started by a guy who spent 12-years in the Foster Care Program growing up as a child. Today he contributes 5% of his revenue to local agencies who care for children.
Around Christmas time the restaurant has a tree just inside the restaurant's door with gift idea cards all over it. The idea is you select a card off the tree, go to a store and purchase the item, then bring it back to the store so they can distribute them in time for Christmas.
There were already a trio of small bicycles in the restaurant and several other smaller items under the tree. There was also a donation box for those folks, like us, who want to contribute but are unable for one reason or another to return with their purchases.
While finishing our meal I simply asked Tricia if we had any cash with us for the donation box. She brought out a wad from her pocket and as we passed the box on the way out of the restaurant I watched her place some bills into the box. Once we were in the parking lot I was pleasantly surprised to learn we had just donated 5-$20 bills to a worthy cause.
How about our State by State Bucket Lists or Visited Campgrounds List?
If so, click on the sign below to be taken to our other website.
Would you like to be notified of new blog posts?
