A unique blend of pseudoscience and utopian communal living, founded on the belief of a concave Earth.
Religion: Christianity
Founder: Cyrus Teed
Founded: 1869
Ended: Declined after Cyrus Teed’s death in 1908; last member joined in 1940
Location: New York, United States; later moved to Florida
Size: 200 members (at peak)
Other Names: The Koreshan Unity, The Koreshan Unity Foundation
Website: koreshan.mwweb.org (archived)
Koreshanity was founded by Cyrus Teed, who, after a divine revelation in 1869, rechristened himself as Koresh and laid the foundations for a new set of beliefs that amalgamated pseudoscientific theories with religious principles. This new religious movement was characterized by its adherence to the Cellular Cosmogony or the Hollow Earth theory, which proposed that the Earth and universe are contained within a concave sphere, with humans living on its inner surface. This cosmological model placed the sun as an invisible electromagnetic battery at the universe’s center, reflecting off mercurial discs to produce the celestial bodies observed in the sky. To validate this theory, the Koreshans, as the followers were known, undertook the Koreshan Geodetic Survey in 1897 in Naples, Florida, aiming to demonstrate the Earth’s concavity.
Beyond its unique cosmology, Koreshanity advocated for a communal lifestyle, with its adherents living together in a utopian community known as the Koreshan Unity. This community, established in Estero, Florida, in the late 19th century, functioned on principles of collectivism, celibacy, reincarnation, and immortality, underpinned by a rejection of commercialism and a commitment to communal ownership of property. Koreshanity’s social structure was hierarchically organized into three membership levels, each with specific beliefs and practices regarding marriage, work, and communal living. The core, celibate members, believed that abstaining from sexual conduct was a scientific method to achieve immortality, a belief that Cyrus Teed vigorously preached, claiming that celibacy would liberate women from the slavery of marriage.
The Koreshan Unity reached its zenith between 1903 and 1908, with a peak membership of around 250 residents within the commune and an estimated 4,000 believers nationwide. The community established various enterprises, including a bakery, printing house, general store, and power plant, which supplied electricity to the region before it was widely available, and was intended to become a New Jerusalem, a utopian city with a projected population of 10 million. Political ambitions were also part of the Koreshan Unity’s endeavors. In 1906, they formed the Progressive Liberal Party, aspiring to gain political influence in Lee County, although they were never successful in elections.
The Unity’s decline began with Teed’s death in 1908, as membership dwindled due to the central role of celibacy and the lack of new adherents. The community persisted into the mid-20th century, with its last member, Hedwig Michel, donating the main portion of the commune grounds to Florida in 1961, leading to the establishment of the Koreshan State Historic Site.
image via Florida Traveler
