k Koreshan State Park 3800 Corkscrew Road Estero, Florida 33928 A Brief History of Dr. Cyrus Teed And the Koreshans By: Roger M. Parlin, Ph.D. A A Brief History of Dr. Cyrus Teed and the Koreshans Updated August 2020 Weekly Newsletter KORESHAN STATE PARK ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to say thanks to all the Rangers, fellow members of the Board of Directors, as well as volunteers and volunteer docents and guides that helped make this State Park one of the best in Florida. Click here: Become a Friend of Koreshan State Park Call 239-992-0311 or 239-470-0265 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS The following work is a list of the most commonly asked questions, along with the answers by the many thousands of guests that visit our park every year. The original purpose of this publication was to help me when I was new to We encourage you to become a member of the park, to understand the the FRIENDS OF THE KORESHANS. lives and times of the By joining you, help your State Park. Koreshan Unity and their rich history. Become a Friend of Koreshan State Park. Roger M. Parlin, Ph.D. Join Our Efforts. All Membership Levels Tour guide Volunteer and include a 10% discount on items for sale by Member of the CSO Board the Friends of Koreshan State Park at the Of Directors. Ranger Station at the park entrance and the Art Hall on the Settlement grounds. If you KORESHAN STATE PARK are a Resident Volunteer Member, you can [email protected] join for $5.00! Please help us. 239-470-0265 Ranger Station 239-992-0311 1 Dr. Parlin received his Teed was a distant cousin of Mormonism's founder, BA degree in Religion in Joseph Smith, who started his religion similarly. 1969 at Trevecca Like some leaders of other groups that formed in the University and his Ph.D. 19th century, Teed took ideas from other places. in Religious Studies in "He drew from every conceivable religion, including 1989 from Pacific Hinduism, Theosophy, and Spiritualism. The University. communal piece was based on the primitive Baptist He retired in 2013 from Church. He drew from Greek mythology even," The Southern Millner says. Teed moved from community to Association, where he community before eventually landing in Chicago. taught for over 20 years, and for a time, he served as While there, he grew his flock and influence. He an Adjunct Professor of Insurance Studies at Edison also became a huge media presence – in some ways, State College. In 2013 he retired from teaching and a media celebrity. Teed never disappointed when it is now a tour guide at Koreshan State Park and a came to feeding reporters incredible stories. And member of the CSO Board of Directors. like other religious leaders, he overstayed his welcome and eventually left. Where did he go next? Millner again: "Teed was on a train one day and things were falling apart in Chicago, and he knew he had to get out. There were mobs after him; there were death threats, and husbands were suing him; he couldn't pay his bills. So he was on a train. And, he heard about this property in Florida." The property was about 40 miles, by road, north of Estero where Pine Island, Florida, is today, near Fort Myers. He was convinced that this would be the Professor Lyn Millner spent five years researching location of his new Jerusalem. Teed had grandiose and writing the story of Cyrus Teed, a man who plans for the settlement. created his own religion and persuaded a couple of hundred people to believe him. What would drive The Allure of Immortality by Lyn Millner. someone to recruit people into their sect and lead For more on the life story of Dr. Cyrus Teed and the them on a fantastical journey? Probably two things. 10 million people to live in his city.1 Please obtain a The first: his childhood. Millner says: copy of Lyn Millner’s book at the Ranger Station at "He grew up at a time when religion was hugely Koreshan State Park Hardback ($25.00)2 or important in society. And specifically, there had paperback ($20.00) or audio ($7.95) been a real religious fervor across New York, See the profile of the Koreshans on the World and especially in western New York. He had a Religions and Spirituality site compelling speaking voice even as a child. So, his parents wanted him to become a preacher, and becoming a preacher in those days, to give you a frame of reference, was sort of like becoming an athlete today." Teed, claimed to have been visited by an angel. In that visitation, Teed was given what he 1 believed was a great universal truth. But he didn't http://www.gulfshorelife.com/August-2015/Author-Lyn- Millner-Leaves-No-Stone-Unturned-Koreshan-Unity- share it all at once with people, even his followers. Koreshan-State-Historic-Site-Cyrus-Teed/ 2 https://www.wlrn.org/post/cult-leader-part-floridas-rich- history 2 members leaving and without new members joining, Guided Tours the group slowly dwindled. [2] The Friends of Koreshan State Park offer guided tours every Saturday and Sunday at 10:00 a.m. April Finally, in 1961 Hedwig Michel, (more on her through December and 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. later), the only surviving member and president of Wednesday through Sunday, January through the Koreshans religious community, deeded the March. Contact the Ranger Station at (239) 992- property to the State of Florida. The Unity 0311 for additional information. The cost of the tour Settlement then became the “Koreshan State Park." is $5.00 for persons over 12 years of age. Click here In 1967, after the restoring of the eleven surviving to order your tour ticket(s) online. buildings, the Park was given the title of “The Koreshan State Historic Site.” Then in late 2017, the http://friendsofkoreshan.org/product/historic- name was changed back to Koreshan State Park to settlement-tours/ make it easier for the public to recognize the location as a State Park. Special Tours If you are requesting information for tours for clubs, homeschool associations, or other groups, please call us as soon as possible to ensure we will be able to fulfill your requested dates. Who were the Koreshans? The Koreshan Unity started in the 1870s in New York [1], where Teed began preaching his beliefs. He formed short-lived groups in New York City and Moravia. He later moved to Chicago. Teed's followers established a commune in Chicago in 1888 called – The Koreshan Unity. Some members also created a short-lived community in San MILK AND WINE LILEY Francisco (1891-1892). Small church groups existed in other towns. How did Florida obtain this land as a Park? Following Dr. Cyrus (Koresh) Teed's death, the Red Founder of the Koreshans, late in 1908, the group Pineapple went into decline; several groups split off from the Unity One such group was the Order of Theocracy. They left in 1910 and moved to nearby Fort Myers. This group, the Order of Theocracy, lasted until 1931. The fact the Unity was celibate did not help, What Are The Attractions Here although celibacy was not the real problem since there was a married status within the Unity.3 Its At The Park? celibates were the highest order. With some The Park, in addition to the Koreshan Unity, has many attractions that draw guests to the Park in the thousands every year. Here are just a few: 3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koreshan_Unity 3 Botanical Gardens: Mango Eucalyptus, and other fruit-bearing trees, an extraordinary amount of Chinese bamboo obtained from the Ford and Edison Winter Estates, and many flowering trees and plants from a wide variety. Night Blooming Cactus AFRICAN SAUSAGE TREE This African Sausage Tree is just outside the Planetary Court. It derives its name from its the fruit, which resembles a sausage. The seed pod is a favorite food of elephants, giraffes, and hippopotamuses. Also, the seed pod may be ground up and used as cattle food. Although humans do not THE CAMEL FOOT TREE eat the sausage-like pods, they can peel the bark off This tree gets its name from its leaf that resembles them and ferment them to make beer. The blood- the shape of a camel’s foot. The tree is native to red flowers of the South African sausage tree India. In the United States of America, the tree bloom at night on long, rope-like stalks that hang grows in Hawaii, coastal California, southern Texas, down from the limbs of this tropical tree. The and southwest Florida. The tree has a beautiful fragrant, nectar-rich blossoms are pollinated by bats, crimson flower. This tree is just outside the Art Hall. insects, and Sunbirds in their native habitat. The mature fruits dangle from the long stalks like giant sausages. FARMER MARKET Chinese Bamboo https://www.facebook.com/Koreshanfarmersmarket/ 4 regions of East Asia and northern Australia. The common name for the Bombax is Red Silk Cotton Tree.5 In the United States of America, the tree grows in Hawaii, coastal California, southern Texas, and Southwest Florida.6 This particular Tree at Koreshan State Park is located just outside the Art Hall. TURKS CAP FLOWER This spreading shrub, often as broad as it is high, grows THE MONKEY PUZZLE TREE: 2-3 ft., or more. Bright-red, pendant, hibiscus-like The Koreshans imported this species of tree as a flowers never fully open, their petals overlapping to form sapling from across the world, which is indigenous a loose tube, with the staminal column protruding, said to to Queensland, Australia, and drops seed pods as resemble a Turkish turban.