Spirit Fruit Society
The Spirit Fruit Society was a communitarian group in the United States that was organized after a period of repeated business depressions during the 1890s.
The society had its beginnings in Lisbon, Ohio, and over the years of its existence moved to Ingleside, Illinois, and finally to California.
Although it never numbered more than a handful of adherents, the Spirit Fruit Society existed longer and more successfully than any other American utopian group.
The Spirit Fruit Society was started by Jacob Beilhart (4 March 1867 – 24 November 1908),[2] who was born in Columbiana County, Ohio,[3] to a Lutheran father and a Mennonite mother.
[1] After two years, however, faced with the prospect of being sent to work in other areas of the country, Beilhart left preaching, maintaining that he wanted to do something "besides talk".
[2] Beilhart felt a strong need to help the sick so he enrolled in a nursing program at the Battle Creek Sanitarium,[a] which was run by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg.
The two men took instruction in Christian Science while Beilhart worked at the inn and helped develop Post's cereal drink, Postum.
Post and Beilhart rejected much of the Christian Science doctrine, but embraced the religion's view that illness was an illusion and could be overcome by mental suggestion and self-sacrifice.
[1] While there was no mention of any kind of organization or hierarchy in any documents, as the leader, Beilhart likely made important decisions concerning the group.
In an effort to dispel some of the misconceptions and rumors about the society, Beilhart wrote extensively for newspapers to explain the workings of the group.
The stated goal in the incorporation documents was to "teach mankind how to apply the truths taught by Jesus Christ.
"[1][2] Beilhart made no attempt to solicit members for his commune and sometimes rejected applicants when he felt they were not fit candidates.
Dubbed the "Love Child", this birth prompted newspapers to characterize the group as a free-love society of promiscuity.
The views of the society, particularly those against marriage and promoting free love, were not accepted well in the small Ohio village of Lisbon.
In the end, the society's rejection of marriage on the grounds that it made a 'slave of the woman', and the misinterpretations of their views on free-love were too much for the people of Lisbon to accept.
[1][5] In 1905, Beilhart purchased 90 acres (36 ha) near Ingleside, Illinois, along Wooster Lake, a tract known as the Dalziel Farm.
[3] On the property by the lake, the society's members hand-built a concrete-block home that they called the "Spirit Fruit Temple".
In keeping with the society's beliefs in simplicity, Beilhart was buried in a plain coffin in an unmarked grave overlooking Wooster Lake.
[1][5][8] The loss of a charismatic and dominant leader often precipitates the decline of such groups, but the Spirit Fruit Society persevered.
[3] Virginia Moore was chosen president of the society upon Beilhart's death, and the community stayed together and carried on its activities as before.
Virginia Moore stated that the Illinois climate was not suitable for their activities and the decision had been made to move to California.
Despite this, and, more significantly, despite the loss of their spiritual leader, Beilhart, the society continued to exist longer than most other communes at that time.
[1] Though rooted in Christianity yet exhibiting traits of communalism, the members of the society were not bound by either set of beliefs or values.
Murphy suggests that this is one of the reasons for the society's longevity – that, rather than be confined by one belief system, the members could easily adapt to, and solve, everyday issues arising within the community as well as threats from outside.
