A BRIEF HISTORY OF DR. CYRUS TEED AND THE KORESHANS-2

101

THE KORESHAN UNITY TRAILER PARK

The Trailer Park, built in the early 1940’s on the north side of the Estero River near US-
41. The photo on the left is a view of the trailer park main office under construction. The
photo on the right is a view of the same main office at the trailer park today.
Currently, the Trailer Park is used today by resident members of the volunteer staff.

101

102

Photo of children at the Koreshan Unity trailer park in Estero, Florida
in the 1950s.
Back to the Index

102

103

THE POLITICS OF THE KORESHANS

The people of Lee County were staunch followers of the
Democratic Party and made the Koreshans sign a
document, or otherwise coerced them to only vote
Democrat in all elections. However, in 1904 the Koreshans
voted for Teddy Roosevelt a Republican. So Lee County
(Fort Myers) threw all of the Koreshans votes out. In 1904
the population of Ft. Myers was around 1500 men, women,
and children. Assuming that 33% were men other than
Asians and American Indians, Remember women were not
allowed to vote until the 1920’s by the 19th amendment to
the Constitution some 16 years later. However, they were
allowed to pay taxes, and this was tantamount to taxation
without representation. Sound familiar?
Black American males were allowed to vote in 1870 by the 15th amendment to the
Constitution. So if everyone voted that would be around 500 votes compared to
Koreshan votes of perhaps 57.

103

104

That was only 96 years ago. This engendered a lot of anger among the two groups and
may have been contributory to the beating of Cyrus (Koresh) Teed and his eventual
death.

The above, beating fueled by a misunderstanding over a telephone conversation, finally
resulted in a fight between several Koreshan men, including Teed, and some citizens of
Fort Myers, accompanied by the town the Fort Myers law enforcement, Marshal Sanchez,
on October 13, 1906.

The Fort Myers newspaper alleged that Dr. Teed, a slight man of 67, 145 pounds, five
and a half feet tall and outnumbered started the brawl. Teed was struck in the head by the
town marshal several times that may have resulted in permanent damage, perhaps
contributing or even causing his death, two years later from his injuries, at age 69.

Also, the Koreshans formed their own political party called the Progressive Liberty
Party to run against the area’s established Democrats in the election of 1906. 63

Back to the Index

63 http://koreshan.mwweb.org/teed_kshs.htm

104

105

Looking For A Place To Build The Koreshan “New Jerusalem.”
MOVING TO FLORIDA
The first trip to Florida in early December 1893 was not without consequence. Dr. Teed
met with a Mr. Whitehead64 who offered to sell land on Pine Island (off the beaten path
even today but close to the Gulf of Mexico) and a way to the Koreshan Unity. The
asking price of $150,000 (approximately - $4,500,000 in today’s money) was too much
money for the Unity to pay, so the contingent returned to Chicago.
Before Teed left, he conducted a series of lectures and distributed pamphlets. One of the
brochures landed in the hands of a German immigrant named Gustave Damkohler.

64 They met a Mr. Whitehead who showed them the property at St. James City. The cost was too much for the Koreshans, $150,000.00.

105

106

THE GUSTAVE DAMKOHLER COTTAGE
Gustave Damkohler was born on December 13, 1825, in Blankenburg, Germany and was

the first homesteader 65in Estero in 1882.
He farmed along the Estero River and
then used the river to ship his harvests and
goods north via the Gulf of Mexico.

Damkohler was a remarkable man. He
invented a fireless cooker (heat stove).
He gathered many orphans, educated and
took care of them. He was a landscape
gardener and a medical doctor, although
there is no record that he ever practiced
medicine. He moved to Australia 1846, at
the age of 21, to mine for gold but unable
to “Strike it Rich” as a miner ended up as a cook in a mining camp.66

65 http://www.news-press.com/story/life/130-years/2014/12/07/gustave-damkoehler/20068753/
66 http://koreshan.mwweb.org/gene/uged/html/fam028.html

106

107

He was there only a few years, and then he returned to
Germany until the early1880’s and then left Germany for
America, now around 55 years old, moving to Missouri he
was married to Alma (maiden name is unknown) Alma who
was 28 years younger than him (1853 to 1884).

Then hearing that The Government was giving away land,
160 acres, to people willing to homestead it, he and his wife
and two daughters and his son Elwin moved to and located
in, what would become Estero. He then acquired an
additional 160 acres. However, this enterprise did not work
well for Damkohler. The land was hard to clear and took
time and Damkohler was in his mid to late 50’s (around 57)
and perhaps, was not able to do what physically needed to
be done to clear the land. Also, taking into consideration a run of bad luck from cattlemen
burning off land that Damkohler had planted crops on so that it could be used for grazing
land for cattle as well as illness of him and his family (discussed later). The amount of
citrus, pineapple, and a few other crops, Damkohler could produce was limited to just a
fraction of the land he was able to clear.

107

108

He raised silkworms, honeybees and fished to make a living. Then bad turned to worse
when the Damkohler family became sick with some strange illness. In a short amount of
time, Damkohler would lose his wife after giving birth to his son and his two daughters to
this disease. Damkohler would travel to neighboring towns to gather supplies for his
family including food for his newborn son. The trip would take several days, so
Damkohler arranged for his neighbor (mysteriously referred to only as Mr. X) to watch
over his family while he was gone. The trip could take a week or more depending on the
weather. Elwin Damkohler recalls the events in his book: Estero 1892 -Memories of the
First Settlers.”
Note: The use of the reference to “Mr. X” rather than a real name could have been for
legal reasons. In that, to accuse a person of murder without proof would be slander.

108

109

Elwin Damkohler goes on to say in his book: “…however, our
suspicions were aroused. It became clear that "Mr. X" 'had an
ulterior motive. He had a friend, and he wanted my father to marry
this friend. Father hesitated. He said he needed time to deliberate. Not
long afterward, our baby brother showed signs of illness. Then the
other children became sick. Father could not determine the cause. He called in an
English doctor. Neither could diagnose the ailment. Two months later our baby brother
died. Then my youngest sister and a little while later, my oldest sister died. I was a
walking skeleton. Father and the other doctor were prepared for my death which they felt
would surely come. But I did not die. I overcame the poison which the diabolical "Mr. X."
had introduced into our food. His scheme was revealed two years later. He had poisoned
us children with white lead. His plan was to have father marry his friend before suffering
a like fate. "Mr. X." and his friend would then have 300 acres along Estero Creek worth
about $25,000 at that time. When it became evident that I would live, "Mr. X."
disappeared. Father and I, both exhausted from these harrowing happenings, decided to
take a trip down the coast in our little skiff sailboat for a complete rest.”

109

110

A WAY OUT!
For the next eight years or so Damkohler farmed the land here in Estero. Now around 65, he
ran across some Koreshan pamphlets which were left behind by Dr. Cyrus (Koresh) Teed
on his visit to Pine Island, to look at some property there for the Unity, the pamphlets fell
into the hands of Damkohler. (Pine Island is about 32 miles north of Estero.)

Damkohler liked what the pamphlets said and thought it to be a good idea to sell or even
give his property to Cyrus Teed and join the Koreshan Unity and he, and his son, now 14,
would be taken care of for the rest of their lives. In response to a letter sent to Dr. Teed, he
and an entourage of his closest followers returned to Southwest Florida to look at the
property in Estero.

Damkohler and Teed came to a deal where Teed would purchase 300
acres from Damkohler for $200, possibly the balance of the mortgage
on the second 160 acres acquired by Damkohler, equivalent to about
$6,000 in today’s money, still not a bad deal. Damkohler held back
20 acres most likely for his son Elwin then around 14 years old.

Elwin Damkohler around 20 years old

110

111

THE FLY IN THE OINTMENT

Damkohler at age 53 had a son Elwin Damkohler67 (1878 – 1969 passed at age
91). Damkohler, son Elwin, did not trust the Koreshans and especially Teed
which he believed tricked his father into disinheriting him and was angry at his
father for selling the family property to Teed. Remember the Unity is a commune and all
personal property of the members, upon joining, becomes property owned in common by the
Unity. Therefore Damkohler had to give all of his personal property to the Koreshans as well
as the 20 acres he held onto. In return, the Koreshans would take care of him and his son.

In my opinion, it appears that is not likely that this was a trick by Dr. Teed because; it seems
that he was not aware of Damkohler wanting to become a Unity member until after the sale.
Under any circumstance, the deal in the mind of Damkohler, at the time, appeared to be a
good one. Later, however, Damkohler became disenchanted with the deal and sued Teed to
reclaim the property. He ultimately left Estero for Missouri on May 20, 1899 (Gustave now 74
years old) and then for Alaska which is where he died and was buried in Juneau. His wife and
three of his four children are buried along the Estero River. 68

67http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=38422100
68 http://koreshan.mwweb.org/gene/uged/html/fam028.html

111

112

Elwin was angry with his father for selling the property to the
Koreshans and felt that his father had disinherited him. Elwin
had lost his two sisters and infant brother and when only six
years old had lost his mother as well. Later, Elwin, now around
age 19 or 20 convinced his father to sue the Koreshans to get
back the 320 acres. However, Gustave and Elwin settled with
Teed out of court for 160 acres. The big winner was Louis A.
Hendry, Gustave’s lawyer who kept 80 acres as his fee. Then,
Elwin moved to Alaska to mine for gold.

Elwin in his later years

Back to the Index

112

113

THE BAMBOO LANDING

Before US-41 was completed in the 1920’s the
Bamboo Landing was used as a port for loading and
unloading passengers visiting the Unity and was the
the formal entrance to the settlement and gardens. The
Koreshans would give live performances and concerts
on the stage (landing) to visitors that would anchor
their boats in the water to enjoy the performances.

At that time the Estero River was more passable and
two to three times wider, but because of the mangrove
roots encroaching on the river, which are now illegal
to cut, without a permit, it has become narrowed to
about one-half to one-third of what is was then.

113

A perspective of the times: 114

It was in October of 1908, two months before Dr.
Teed's death that Henry Ford introduced his Model
T Ford to the public. The Model T Ford would be
followed in 1927 by the Model A-Ford.

Moreover, it was only five years earlier in 1903
that the Right Brothers flew the first power-driven
controllable aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Back to the Index

114

THE FOUNDERS HOME 115

New Jerusalem

(The gold-colored building
is not the Turret of
Founders Home but an
illustration of Turret similar
to that of his home).

It was in 1896 the Founders home was constructed.
Above on the left is one of the homes of Dr. Cyrus R. Teed the founder of the Koreshan
Unity. His other home was located on Estero Island (Fort Myers Beach) where Cyrus was
buried in 1908. At the time of Dr. Teeds’ death construction was halted on the home. On
the right side of the building is a partially completed turret. The turret (tower) was
designed to give the building a castle-like appearance, and allegedly the completed turret
was to have a gold dome at its top.

115

Back to the Index 116
(Back to the Index Page 99)
Then when visitors would come
up the Estero River to visit the
Unity and disembark from their
boat onto the Bamboo Landing,
they would be awed by the beauty
of the home.

The Founders’ home had arches
on two sides. Because of termite
damage to the home, the home
was renovated. The concrete
arches that surrounded the house
had to be removed to repair the
termite damage.

116

117

Living at this same location was Victoria Gratia (Koresh)69, a.k.a. Annie Glosson
Ordway which Cyrus Teed Koresh, a self-proclaimed Emperor had given her the title of

Empress thus capitalizing on the male/female concept of
God in corporeal form. Empress Victoria Gratia has
always been somewhat a bit of a mystery. She was in a
place of leadership within the Unity and even crowned
Empress by Teed. Victoria seemed to drop from favor
soon after the death of Dr.Teed. Victoria’s “popularity”
(if we can use that word), never really amounted to
much. Indeed, as long as Teed was alive, she maintained
power, but this was because Dr. Teed would always
defend her and her position within the Koreshan Unity.
She lacked the charisma of Dr. Teed and came off as
arrogant, and full of herself. After the passing of Dr.
Teed Victoria attempted to step into the position left
Vacant by his death. She met with no little resistance
from the Unity members they just did not like her. Twelve years after her departure, the
same year of the hurricane, Victoria wrote a proclamation to the Unity at Estero offering

69 name,
Millner, Lyn. Allure of Immortality: An American Cult, a Florida Swamp, and a Renegade Prophet (Kindle Location 2331 – Chapter 6). University Press of Florida. Kindle
Edition.

117

118

to return. I could find no reference that her offer was accepted or rejected, but I could
find no indication that she ever returned. Still, Victoria always had a small following,
some of whom followed her to central Florida after she left the Unity. Victoria always
seemed to believe that she was the female Koresh, even though she married Dr. Graves,
the Koreshan dentist, two years after leaving the Unity. One could speculate that her
marriage to Dr. Graves would make her, at least in the minds of the Unity members,
ineligible to lead a celibate Unity when she was not a celibate.
Back to the Index

118

119

Portrait of Koreshans Henry and Etta Silverfriend with Hattie
Wakeman holding citrus fruit.
Back to the Index

119

120

THE PASSING OF CYRUS TEED:

Remember, in 1906 Teed was involved in an altercation between Fort Myers men and
members of the Unity. He was severely pistol-whipped by Fort Myers town Marshal
Sanchez; suffering injuries from which he never recovered then add to this the heat stroke
he suffered while in the Union Army. He died on December 22, 1908.

Teed's followers initially expected his resurrection, after
which he and his faithful would be taken up to heaven as he
had predicted in his book: The Immortal Manhood.

Teed’s body was placed in a custom-made zinc bathtub
covered from the waist down with a linen sheet.

Plan A. On Christmas day, three days after his death, the
members of a group gathered around that zinc bathtub which
held the remains of the “Beloved Founder” and with great
anticipation, believes the Founder would raise from the dead
in much the same matter as Jesus Christ.70 They reasoned
that Jesus was entombed for three days and rose on the third

70 https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/3e2fo4/request_harry_potter_what_happened_to_voldemorts/

120

121

day. Dr. Teed (Koresh) died on December 22nd just three days before Christmas. It would
seem to appear to the members the timing was perfect. They kept a constant vigil over his
body for two days, after which time it began to show signs of decay. Following
Christmas, the Lee County health officer stepped in to order his burial. 71

Plan B. The members, somewhat disappointed, still believe that Dr. Cyrus (Koresh)
Teed’s would rise from the dead did not bury him but placed
his remains in a small mausoleum, zinc bathtub and all, near
his island home on Estero Island (Fort Myers Beach). Now a
diminishing number of members took turns watching the
tomb, but Koresh did not come back from the dead. This plan
too was abandoned after a period of time. A small group of
loyal members stood to watch over the gravesite to protect it
from vandalism or any harm to the site and to be a witness
should Dr. Cyrus Teed (Koresh) rise from the grave. After a
time, this plan was abandoned by the disappointed and
discourage members as well. A small group of loyal members
stood to watch over the gravesite to protect it from vandalism
or any harm to the site and to be a witness should Dr. Cyrus

71 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_Teed

121

122

Teed (Koresh) rise from the grave. After a time, this plan was abandoned by the
disappointed and discourage members as well.

Plan C. Then some of the members decided to placed sand around the gravesite and
carefully smoothed it out to show Dr. Teed’s footprints should he arise. Sadly for the
members, no footprints appeared. Eventually, this plan was replaced by yet another.

Plan D. Then a small boat was anchored near the tomb to give Dr. Teed, should he arise
from the dead, a way to get back from Estero Island to the mainland and the Koreshan
Unity.

A small cabin on the grounds was used to house members who watched over the grave
site and to protect it from vandals. Teed’s body remained in the grave site until a
hurricane in 1921 damaged the site, and Dr. Teed’s body was washed away with only a
few bones being found. These bones were placed in the Unity Post Office (allegedly, at
that time the only building with a lock). Unfortunately, the Post Office burned down in
1929, and Teed’s remains were lost.

122

123

The photo is the Koreshans cleaning up mausoleum wreckage at Ft. Myers Beach on
Estero Island following the 1921hurricane.

123

124

LA PARITA - Cyrus Teed died in this island home on December 22nd, 1908.

This island home named "La
Parita" was built on the south
point of Estero Island for Cyrus
Teed and his guests, as seen on
your right. It was a two-story,

large complex for visitors and
their families and often used for
beach parties, picnics, and special
outings. Guests arrived in
decorated boats or shallow draft
"run boats" built by the Koreshans for water transportation.

Cultivated coconut palm groves, papayas, mangoes, and pineapples grew near "the
woods" of mangroves, buttonwood, and Australian pines in this tropical setting. 72

Back to the Index

72 http://www.esteroislandhistoricsociety.org/29.html

124

125

The Planetary Court - Koreshan Settlement: 1904

A council of women governed the day to day affairs of the settlement
referred to as “The Seven Sisters” and were called the Planetary Council.
The Seven Sisters lived in a house called The Planetary Court.

125

126

THE CUPOLA
The only male occupant of the Court was Mr. Henry
Silverfriend, a brother of one of the Sisters, Etta
Silverfriend.

Henry lived on the third floor (the cupola). Henry was
spoken of as the Protector of the Sisters and would
on occasion speak to the men of the surrounding towns
on matters of business.

126

127

Photos that were taken of the Planetary Court 1904.

For more photos of the Planetary Court, please click here.

127

128

THE STAIRCASE AT THE PLANETARY COURT

The staircase found in the Planetary Court home of the Seven Sisters was built by a
ship's carpenter named Steven Chislett (around 1906) using wood call “Dade Heart
Wood Pine.”73 The dark vibrant color of the wood is natural and no stains were applied.

73 http://pinetreebuilders.com/article.pdf

128

129

THE SEVEN SISTERS (1917)

Photos of the Seven Sisters: Unlike the other female members of the Unity, which lived
in a common dorm, the Seven Sisters had their own home and their private
bedchambers /office. Three of the seven lived on the first floor and four on the second
floor. See the following photos:

129

130

PLANETARY COURT - DOWNSTAIRS

Two of the seven bedrooms of the seven sisters in the Planetary Court.

130

131

Why did the Planetary Court as well as all other living quarters have no closets,
bathrooms or kitchens?

No bathrooms no running water and a belief by some it was
wrong to have a toilet in the same place you lived. Outhouses were
used.

However, after the death of Dr. Teed and the decline of the
membership, the home was occupied by Hedwig Michel (more on
her later), and she had a bathroom built on the second floor of the
Planetary Court.

The other members of the Planetary Court did not feel it proper to have a bathroom in
the same place you live in and refused to live there. Hedwig had the home all to herself.

No Closets – Closets were taxed as a room.

No kitchens – All members ate in the common dining hall.

131

132

Was their equality of the sexes?
Of course, Victoria was on the road as well, but I have yet to see much evidence of her
or the Planetary Court Sisters running the day to day activities outside the Unity.
I think that Teed believed in the equality of the sexes, but he was also a realist and saw
that the world outside of Estero, at least in the early 20th century, was a Man’s World.
Back to the Index

132

133

GEORGE HUNT (1864-1942)

As seen in the correspondence between Teed and George Hunt.
When Teed was on the road, he corresponded with Hunt. Hunt
became the face of authority, in the absence of Dr. (Koresh) Teed,
and ran the day to day activities at the Unity.

George Hunt was given the responsibility of dealing with the
outside world as the voice of the Seven Sisters and Victoria.
George would speak to the neighboring communities on the
business affairs of the Unity. Although there is some
documentation the Henry Silverfriend brother to one of the
Seven Sisters, Henrietta (Etta) Silverfriend, spoke for the Unity to
the world outside in earlier years. The relationship between George and Henry: It's my
take that Henry was Teed's business rep and traveled extensively to develop new business
interests. He also was the rep for the ladies of the Planetary Court in local business
dealings. George Hunt was, in reality, the #2 man under Teed and was Teed's right-hand
man so to speak. The letters to Hunt from Teed show that he was a confident and in
charge of implementing Teed's decisions when Teed was traveling. Victoria had the title
of being co-leader, but George actually made the wheels turn.
Back to the Index

133

134

Who is buried in the grave by the Bakery?
HEDWIG MICHEL (1892 – 1982 age 90)

74 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koreshan_Unity The last remaining follower, Hedwig Michel, (age
42). She had learned of the Koreshans in Germany,
and as a Jew had fled Nazi persecution in 1940 and
joined the Unity.

Michel was a “shot in the arm” for the failing Unity
and pumped into in new life and giving an additional
30 or 40 years of life to the failing Unity. She deeded
the central portion of the commune grounds to
Florida to form a state park in 1961.

The Koreshan State Park (now known as the
Koreshan State Historic Site) opened in 1967. 74

Hedwig Michel continued to live in the building
called the "Planetary Court."

134

135

She died in 1982 and is the only Koreshan buried within the park because the graveyard
of the members was flooded at the time due to heavy rains.

Where are the other Koreshans buried?

Two other Koreshan cemeteries
are nearby, one of which lies
within the gated community of
Pelican Sound and the other on
land owned by the Audubon
Society. Partly due to the Koreshan
belief in, a form of reincarnation,
little, if anything, was done to care
for the cemeteries.

The only permanent gravestones were put in by family members. Hedwig Michel
(click to see her grave marker) was the only member to be buried on the grounds of the
Koreshan Unity.

Back to the Index

135

THE BAKERY 136

The first floor was used as a bakery
where the bakers could, allegedly,
bake as many as 600 loaves of bread
a day. However, usually, they baked
from 200 to 250 loaves a day to feed
the members and to sell in the store.
The second floor of the bakery was
used as a dorm for the bakers,
around 6 to 8 in all and also served
as a dorm for the baker’s
apprentices.

A room containing the baker’s ovens was attached to the main building (no longer here).
Most likely to confine the heat to the bakery and not the bakers work area. Please notice a

136

137

corner of the cement slab at the lower left of the bakery just above the walkway that
supported the ovens.

The bread contained yeast causing it to rise, so the local
folks of the surrounding town call it “Rising Bread.”
The town-folks loved it because the bread they were used
to was bread cooked in a skillet on the stove and called
Skillet Bread. The Koreshan bread was much like the
white bread you would purchase in stores today. Skillet
Bread was unleavened bread and for most was less
appetizing.

Back to the Index

Skillet Bread

137

138

THE DINING HALL, KITCHEN, AND WOMEN’S DORM

The Hall was condemned and torn down in 1949. To the east side of the bakery was a
three-story building used as a
women’s dorm, kitchen, and common
eating area. At the time of the
construction of the building, it was
the tallest building in Lee County.
The dining area could seat all of the
Unity members, men on one side and
women on the other. In the center was
a raised platform where Cyrus and
Victoria would eat when they were
there. Next to that level was
seating for the Seven Sisters, not
quite as high as Cyrus and Victoria
seats but higher than the rest of the
Unity seating.

138

139

When the membership started to decline due to Dr. Teed's death, and the onset of the
depression in 1929 the property was not well maintained and the Dining Hall / Dorms
were condemned by the local building inspector and were torn down in 1949.

The only artifact remaining is the dinner bell.
The Dinner Bell would be rung four times a
day. Once, for breakfast, lunch and dinner
and a fourth time (around 10:00 PM) just
before the Unity would shut down the
electric generator.

Back to the Index

139

140

HOME OF VESTA NEWCOMB

Lillian “Vesta” Newcomb was born in 1878

and died in 1974 at the age of 95.

She lived in this small cottage until her death

in 1974. She joined the Unity when she was 9

or 10. Then when she was around 15, she

moved to Estero to live with the other
members. For a time she lived in the women’s
dorm, then as a housekeeper for “Empress”

Victoria Gratia. Then the

moved to a small

cottage above, where

she lived out the

remainder of her years. The home was formerly located on the

east side of the Unity compound and was used as a barber
shop. Thus, the two doors – one for the barber shop and the

other for the living quarters of the barber.

140

141

The home was moved from its original place east of
its location now to be used as living quarters for
Vesta. She was a loyal follower of the Unity and did
what she was asked to do to help. She never married
and never had any children.
Portrait of Koreshans Julius Koester and Vesta
Newcomb (1969) Vesta Newcomb, at age 90 was
alive to see the American Astronaut, Neal
Armstrong, walk on the moon in July of 1969.
When asked by reporters, from the Fort Myers
News-Press, about her belief in Cellular Cosmogony
(That is, that we live inside of the earth) she replied –
“Well, I did believe it until I saw the boys walking
on the moon.” Lillian (Vista) Newcomb lived in the
cabin here at the Koreshan Park for another five years and passed at age 95.
Following Teed's death late in 1908, the group went into decline. The property was donated
to the State of Florida and became a State Park in 1961. The four75 remaining members
lived out their lives on the grounds. Vesta Newcomb passed in 1974, and the last member to
die was Hedwig Michel which passed away in 1982.
Back to the Index

75 Vesta Newcomb, Hedwig Michel, Conrad Schlender and Alfred Christianson.

141

THE TENNIS COURT 142
Back to the Index
The Tennis Court, located just south
of the Vista Newcomb home, was
constructed in the 1940s. It was
broken into sections in the late early
1950’s and reused as roadbed in the
adjacent Koreshan owned trailer park
just across the Estero River from the
New Store.

142

143

THE MEMBER’S COTTAGE (1903 / 1904)

It is a one-story cottage located north of the Laundry
House. It became the home of Conrad Schlender
(1876 – 1965) in the late 1920’s during the
depression era. Conrad Schlender’s primary job was
farming and taking care of the Unity’s cattle. Later
the home was used as a guest house for the guests of
the Unity and was one of two homes having an inside
bathroom, the Planetary Court being the other. This
house would have been similar to those the male
members would have built using their credits for
hours worked.

Back to the Index

143

144

THE LAUNDRY HOUSE (No longer
here)
All members of the Unity laundry were
done here at the laundry house. There
were between 5 & 8 members on staff.
Depending on the size of the Unity. There
were three machines in the laundry house:
a washer; extractor and a tumbler.
The clothes were washed and then dried by
using a steam driven centrifugal spin-
drying machine (extractor) which turned at
a rate of three thousand (3000 rpm)
revolutions a minute. Your household
washer machine spins at a speed of 800 to 1000 rpm. At 3000 rpm the centrifuge spun so
fast that it would almost entirely dry the clothes.

However, the clothing would come out so compressed they needed to be put into a machine
that tumbled them in order that they could be loosened up so the close could be hung up to
dry. The clothing was hung out only to let the wrinkles fall out. Please see photos of the
laundry machines below.

144

Washer 145 Tumbler

Extractor

Koreshan laundry appliances. Right – Washer, middle Extractor & left Tumbler.
In the above-colored photo.
Back to the Index

145

146

THE LARGE MACHINE SHOP

The Laundry House would have stood just to the right end of the Large Machine Shop.
This one-story, wood frame structure, of irregular configuration, contained the steam
power equipment that served the adjacent laundry and supplied power to various
equipment used by the Unity. The south portion of the building, the laundry house, was
removed in the late 1940s or early1950s.

Back to the Index

146

147

THE SMALL MACHINE SHOP

The bowed roof has a unique, curved shape and is particularly evident from the inside of
the building. The workshop manufactured small and specialized tools and kitchen items
and provided timepiece and shoe repair.76

Back to the Index

76 http://www.heathermccurdy.com/archives/2006/01/koreshan_state.html

147

148

THE ELECTRIC GENERATOR BUILDING

A large structure, built of wood frame construction. The structure appears to have been
built with corrugated metal sides and roof. It provided electric power to the Koreshans.
While portions of the equipment remain, the majority was sold by the settlement in the
1930s and 40s when money was needed to maintain the settlement.

148

149

Electric Generator Building was constructed in the early 1900’s and housed the
electrical generating equipment for the Settlement. The equipment was purchased and
shipped to the Koreshan Unity from the north and was generating electricity to the
buildings as early as 1912.77

THE FAIRBANKS-MORSE ENGINE
Eventually, a more powerful Fairbanks-Morse diesel engine replaced the original steam
engine. The Unity purchased the 80 HP Diesel Engine in June 1925 for $1932.00. It was
in service until August 1946 when Florida Power & Light (FPL) began servicing the area.
For more information on this building Google: The Generator Building at Koreshan State
Historic Site.

Engine Demonstration - Meet at the Generator Building in the Historic Koreshan
Settlement for demonstrations of early 1900s engines, including the Fairbanks Morse
Engine. 11:30 a.m. Wednesday during tourist season (from late October to early April)
and is free with park admission. 78

Back to the Index

77 http://koreshan.mwweb.org/teed_kshs.htm
78 http://www.news-press.com/story/entertainment/2016/03/18/funcast-things-do-march-18-27/81806652/

149

150

THE STORAGE SHED:

The storage shed constructed of log (peeled cypress and pine).
Most likely the shed was used to store wood for the steam boiler used to power
equipment by the Koreshans.

150