People can do extraordinary things when they put their hearts and minds to it. If you have just the right amount of charisma or scare tactics, you can have the masses eating out of your hands. Right or wrong, we have seen it time and time again throughout our history. The story of the Koreshans seems to start in the same way.
If you have a strong belief in something, you can guarantee someone else out there does too. That is all it takes to start a movement.
How Koreshanity Began
Cyrus Teed was one such individual. While practising medicine and alchemy in New York state, he claimed to have a divine encounter. A beautiful woman manifested before him, providing all the secrets of the Universe.
This gave Teed the inspiration to work out all the details on his new way of life, Koreshanity. Gaining followers was initially proving difficult, so he moved to Chicago, changed his name to Koresh, and gained momentum.
Koreshans Unique Ideas
Individuals in the midwest were more open to his thoughts and teachings. Some of which included:
- Men and women are truly equal. (Women made up 75% of his followers.)
- Celibacy was the way to achieve eternal life.
- People can be reborn by way of Reincarnation.
- We live inside a hollow Earth on one level held in place by centrifugal force.
Time To Head South
When his followers reached around 200 in 1894, he moved them down to Florida to begin work on his new “Jerusalem”. He purchased 300 acres from a German immigrant in modern-day Estero, south of Fort Myers and north of Naples.
Then the building began. Everything was seeming to work well in this utopia. Everyone helped one another with tasks, construction, baking, and cleaning. Even the children had jobs to do.
The Koreshans also had electricity and would help supply the outlying districts.
He began purchasing more land as he believed there would be about 10 million followers flocking to this new settlement.
In 1897, Teed also performed an experiment with Dr Ulysses Grant Morrow on Naples beach. The purpose was to prove their hollow Earth theory. This experiment was flawed, but they believed it proved their hypothesis.
The End is on The Horizon
All seemed to be going steady in his utopia until 1908, when on December 22nd, Teed passed away. He and some of his followers were attacked, and he sustained injuries that eventually took his life.
His believers were sure he would arise three days later. When this didn’t happen, the downward spiral of Koreshanity took hold.
Another interesting fact is in 1921, during a heavy storm, Teed’s tomb was destroyed, and his coffin was washed out to sea.
With no new leader, the people began to leave. By the 1960s, only a few remained living in the settlement. They decided to donate the land to the state of Florida for historic preservation purposes while still residing on-premises. The last Koreshan passed in 1982, leaving behind a beautiful site for tourists to enjoy.
What Remains of the Koreshans Settlement
Sunlight trickles through the Spanish moss dripping from the thick tropical forest trees. Well-manicured grass lots are separated by wide shell laden pathways. Once you get away from the traffic noise on the hectic Tamiami Trail, there is a sense of tranquillity that hangs over the area.
Many well-maintained buildings stand proudly on display. From the parking lot, the first structure is the art hall. Further along the path to the left is the Planetary Court.
If you continue straight ahead, you will come to the boarded up general store, with the founders home in the centre of it all.
Other remaining structures include the bakery building, the Newcomb house, Damkohler house, Member house and machine shops.
OUR TAKEAWAY
Most of us are fascinated when we get the opportunity to see a past life on display. Someone’s actual belongings, homes or places of work that seem to be waiting for them to return has a hold on our psyche.
One thing we all must remember is, we are different. We have our own beliefs, thoughts, dreams, fears and comforts. None of us holds the right to deem any of them right or wrong. Our differences are our strengths; it’s what makes us unique.
Come with us on our tour of the Koreshans Village
Koreshans Settlement In A Nutshell
- Address: 3800 Corkscrew Road Estero FL 33928
- Hours: 8 am – 5 pm 365 days a year (park remains open until sunset)
- Entrance fee: $5.00 per vehicle
- Camping is permitted – additional cost
- Park Website: https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/koreshan-state-park
location map
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Things To Bring On Every Adventure
All of the products and services we recommend are those that we use.
Comfortable Walking Shoes: The comfort of your feet can make or break a location when there is a lot of walking involved. These shoes, in our opinion, are hands down the best out there. We LOVE them!
Hiking Boots: For Urban Exploring and hiking, you need to make sure your feet are comfortable and safe.
Hydration Pack: Staying Hydrated is incredibly essential when you’re out in Nature and something a lot of people miss off the list.
BackPack: We also use a backpack with a bladder as well as the smaller hydration pack for extra water and storage for snacks and supplies.
First Aid Kit: Better to be safe than sorry because bad things can occur outdoors, so you should be ready.
Camera: You want to document the fantastic places you’re going now, right? Then make sure you have a quality camera to show off the incredible adventure.
iPhone: This is our second camera we take everywhere. The quality is amazing and as an added bonus it answers phone calls and texts!
Rain Jackets: You never know when the weather will change, plus rain jackets are light weight and are good windbreakers as well.
Flashlight: Always carry a flashlight with you, it’s better to have it and not need it than vice versa.
Travel Insurance: It’s highly recommended you have coverage while travelling and feel that blanket of security rather than wondering. Or worse, wishing that you had it.
If you reside in the USA and travel out of state, check to see if your health insurance still covers you. We use World Nomads when road tripping and travelling abroad.
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