The Wandering Disciple

A gentle walk through the woods along the nature trail at Koreshan State Park takes hikers from the abandoned settlement of the Koreshans to the Florida wilds along the Estero River.  The hiking trail starts in the village where there are eleven maintained historic buildings left abandoned from religious sect as they attempted to found a New Jerusalem.  The trail then meanders along the Estero River passing through thick forests of bamboo and native Florida fauna.  The trail extends about a mile and half before ending at the picnic and playground area near the campground.  (Photo: July 29, 2009)

Planetary Court is one of several historic buildings remaining from the Koreshan Unity. Facing religious persecution, Koreshan founder Cyrus Teed relocated his followers to a remote spot along the banks of the Estero River. Here he and his supporters created a utopia to peruse their beliefs. As time went on, the followers began to fade and eventually the property was deeded to the State of Florida and turned into a park. Today, visitors can take a walk through history and see the Koreshan way of life or just admire the natural beauty in which the park encompasses. (Photo: July 29, 2009)

The peaceful waters of the Estero River as it passes through Koreshan State Park.  It was along the banks of this river that Cyrus Teed established the Koreshan Unity in 1894.  (Photo: July 29, 2009)

A set of stairs leads down to the bamboo landing along the Estero River at Koreshan State Park.  The park was once the site of the Koreshan Unity, a religious community that escaped to Estero to evade persecution in 1894.  (Photo: July 29, 2009)

The early 1900’s Member Cottage is one of several remaining historic buildings that remain on display at the Koreshan State Historic Site. The park is the site of the former settlement of the Korehsan Unity. The group led by Cyrus Reed Teed came to Estero seeking a new home for their followers in 1894. The colony began to fall following Teed’s death and the last four surviving members deeded the park to to the state in 1961. (Photo: July 29, 2009)

The rustic Damkohler Cottage sits in in thick Florida brush as a testament to settlement that has been lost forever. The building of the Koreshan State Park are frozen in time, a constant reminder of the Koreshan settlement that once thrived at this location in Southwest Florida. (Photo: July 29, 2009)

Estero, Florida: In 1894, Cyrus Teed ventured into rural southern Florida to establish a “New Jerusalem”, a utopia for the followers of Koreshanity. The utopia became known as the Koreshan Unity and was a was a self preserving society until the early 1900’s. Teed was an eclectic physician who in 1869 suffered an electrical shock during an experiment which rendered him unconscious. While unconscious, Teed believed he had a divine inspiration and was the messiah of a new religious belief. He changed his name to Koresh which is Hebrew for Cyrus and began spreading the beliefs of Koreshanity. The beliefs of Koreshanity revolved around the core belief of Cellular Cosmogony. They believed the earth and universe were contained inside a sphere known as a cell. They spent much of their time doing science experiments trying to prove this theory. They also believed in reincarnation, immortality, alchemy, communism and celibacy. Teed began preaching his beliefs in New York. The followers ...