Koreshan Unity

The Koreshan Unity was a communal utopia formed by Cyrus Teed, a distant relative of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.

Koreshan affiliated "study groups" also appeared in Baltimore, Portland, San Francisco, Springfield and Lynn, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.

[7] The Koreshan Unity, led by Cyrus Teed, was a religious cult that followed the ideals of celibacy, community, and equality to attain immortality.

Koreshan celibacy, according to Teed, was the guiding principle humans should live by in order to attain immortality.

However, archaeological research has shown that some members did keep private keepsakes and an iron-key was discovered, showing that even if the Koreshans called for communal ownership, some places or things were off limits.

Teed's evidence for these claims included a device he invented called the "Rectilineator", which could measure the supposed concavity of the Earth's surface.

Teed claimed he had a vision in which he was to establish a utopian city of 10,000,000 with streets up to 400 feet (120 m) wide.

[10] The group built extensively, establishing a bakery, printing house (publishing their newspaper and other publications), the "World College of Life", a general store, concrete works, power plant (supplying power to the surrounding area years before it was available elsewhere in the region) and more.

[14] This Progressive Liberal Party consisted of Koreshans, socialists, Republicans, and dissatisfied Democrats.

She ceded the main portion of the commune grounds to Florida to form a state park in 1961.

Two other Koreshan cemeteries are nearby, one of which lies within a gated community and the other on land owned by the Audubon Society.

After Michel's death, control of the Koreshan Unity Foundation passed to her secretary, Jo Bigelow, and most recently another individual, Charles Dauray.