Cyrus Field Willard

Deeply influenced by the writing of Edward Bellamy, Willard is best remembered as a principal in several utopian socialist enterprises, including the late 1890s colonization efforts of the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth (BCC).

[2] Willard had a wide circle of political friends and acquaintances and maintained correspondence with prominent figures of the English and American socialist and anarchist movements, including William Morris, Sidney Webb, Benjamin R. Tucker, and Peter Kropotkin.

[4] In 1888 writer Edward Bellamy published the book Looking Backward: 2000–1887, a best-selling work of utopian fiction which depicted a futuristic American society of coordinated production and ameliorated social problems.

Although the book sold slowly following its initial release in January 1888, Cyrus Field Willard was one of the first to read the novel, published as it was in his hometown of Boston.

"[7] Bellamy's foray into independent publishing would prove to be a short one, with his paper forced to terminate in 1894, with the Nationalist movement falling to pieces.

Willard was deeply committed to the colonization plan, which would ultimately lead to the defection of a minority faction to establish a more conventional political organization, the Social Democratic Party of America in 1898.

[11] Willard would remain a resident of the Burley Colony for two years, before giving up on the project and leaving for the sunnier climes of Southern California.