Looking for Utopia?

9 December 2008 // Filed under All Season + Places

I am.

For many northeners, South Florida is the next best thing to Utopia, especially in the dead of winter.  Heating up those bones after being chilled to the bone is a wondrous experience! At least, that’s what my visitors at my vacation rental, Travelers Palm, tell me.

At the turn of the 20th century, one group headed to Florida to establish their Utopia. You can still visit the site — it’s an easy drive and on the west coast of Florida.

OK. Maybe the facilities aren’t exactly five stars luxurious. But, I have to say, Koreshan had something to do with the stars in a way. Go see for yourself — here’s the site.

Here’s the real deal according to this Utopia — We live inside the globe, rather than on it.

Now a state park in Estero, Fl, the Koreshan Unity Settlement was founded by Dr. Cyrus Teed, who brought his followers to Estero in 1894. This settlement was to be the New Jerusalem, a Utopia, where members lived communally working for the good of all.

Here’s how Dr. Teed, in charismatic fashion, proved his viewpoint that we live inside our Earthly globe rather than on it. He said, take a look at the horizon; you can clearly see that it actually curves upward – wow. I never saw that!
His followers believed that he was immortal, so, when he died, they laid him out on the banks of the Estero River, waiting for his awakening. After several weeks, his remains were placed in a bathtub, just in time to be washed away by a hurricane. I guess you could say that he did, at least, make a clean getaway in the end.

2008-12-09  ::  Christine