The Koreshan Unity was a commune started by Cyrus Teed, based on his scientific and religious beliefs. He had some interesting ideas. For one, he proposed the idea of a “Hollow Earth.” He thought that the Earth and the sky was inside the inner surface of a sphere.
He thought that the surface of the Earth was on the inside of a hollow sphere and that we were looking at the stars on the inside.
Cyrus Teed used the Persian version of his first name – Koresh.
He came from New York State via Chicago and San Francisco and finally landed in Estero, Florida in 1894. The group peaked at 250 members during the first decade of the 20th century, and finally disappeared in 1961. They last four members bequeathed the property to the State of Florida.
In my opinion, the decline of the group might have had something to do with the fact that one of the group’s beliefs was that they believed that celibacy was a scientific method for obtaining immortality. Only the inner core was completely celibate, though. There was a middle group of members that were allowed to marry, but they only had sex for the purpose of procreation. The outer ring were non-believers that were allowed to participate in the secular aspects of the group.
There were seven women who lived in the Planetary Court. They were responsible for running the organization.
They shared a sitting room.
They each had their own bedrooms.
The women’s bedrooms were airy and spacious.
Mosquitoes were quite a problem. There wasn’t a vaccination against yellow fever until the 1930’s.
There was a man who lived in the building, though. He had a room in the cupola and he was responsible for taking care of the women and they house.
From what the guide said, it sounds like everyone else slept in dormitories. Well, everyone but Cyrus Teed.
They have a recreation of the parlor that he had in his house.
The commune had a number of business ventures, including a bakery, a printing house, a general store, concrete works and a power plant.
The grounds were extensively landscaped, including decorative bridges.
One of the trees they were quite proud of was a Monkey Puzzle Tree.
According to the name plate, its scientific name is Araucaria Bidwillii an it come from Australia.
It is an exotic tree, and I couldn’t get a decent shot of the whole tree. It is an evergreen treen
Now, I am not sure it these are the cones or if they are the “leaves”. I researched a bit and I can’t figure it out. However, these things are as long as a yard and very sharp. I was quite captivated by them.
https://www.facebook.com/kalamazookim/videos/vb.586021988/10153308683786989/?type=3&theater
Another plant they were fond of was bamboo. They wind in the bamboo made interesting sounds. Not only was there a rustling sound, the stems groans as they rubbed together.
Before the roads were developed, much transportation took place on water. They had a landing on Estero River for moving people and products.
And this is what I learned about The Koreshans.
