Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-09-27
TERMS, $500 PER YEAR
WHOLE NO. 1897.

the Oregon and California Railroad
were founded in 1913 by DIR. Kiel.
Prussan mystic, Who practiced
medicine while in New York and
Pittsburg, and subsequently formed
a religious sect OF which these com
munists are members He was SUBJ
sequently joined by some of Count
Maximiian's" people, who had left
Rapp's colony at Economy, which
this closely resembles except as to
celibacy. He first founded the col
ony in Missouri, when he took two
thousand FIVE hundred and sixty acres
OF land, and established the usual
trades needed by farmers. In ls47
there were the inevitable quarrel and
division. In 1855 he set out to es-
tablish a similar community on the
Pacific coast. The first settlement
was made at Shoalwater Bay, Wash.
ington territ ry, which was, however,
subsequently abandoned for the pres
ent one at Aurora. There are now
about four hundred members at Aur-
ora, who own eighteen thousand
acres Of land, have the usual shops
and occupations of communists men,
toned above, carrying on consider
able trade with their neighbors. The
members of both communities are all
either Germans or Pennsylvania
Dutch, and thrive by the industry
and economy peculiar to those peo-
pie. Their government is parental,
intended 10 be like Gods. Kiel ia
the temporal and spiritual head.
Their religion consists in practical
benevolenee. the forms of wooship
being Lutheran. They are thought
to be exceedingly wealthy, but if
their property were divided among
them there would be less than three
thousand dollars to each family, which
though more than the property of
most other communities would aver
age, is but small savings for twenty
years. They preserve the usual fam
lily relations.
The Bishop Hill Community, in
Henry county, Illinois, was formed
by party of Swedes who came to
this country in 1916 under Eric Jan.
son, who had been their religious
leader in the Old World, where they
were greatly prosecuted on account
OF their peculiar religious views.
They suffered great hardships in
effecting first settlement, some of
them going off, in the interest of the
community, to dig gold in California,
and others taking to stock raising
and specializing. In this they were
quite successful, so that jobs and
speculations became the peculiar
work of the community. They took
various public and private contracts /;
among others, one to grade. large
portion of the Chicago Burlington
and Quincy Railroad and to build
some of its bridges. In 1859 they
owned ten thousand acres of good
land, and had the finest cattle in the
State. In 1859, however, the young
people became disconnected and
wished to dissolve the community.
They divided the property in 1860,
when one faction continued the com
munity with its share. In 1851 this
party also broke M, separating into
three divisions. In 1862 these again
divided the property after numerous
lawsuits. A small faction, | believe,
still continues a community on the
ruins. In this community the fam
lies. lived separately, but ate altogeth-
er. They had no president or single
head, the business being transacted
by a board of trustees Their religion
was their principal concern.
Such are the strictly communistic
societies in theUnited States. 1t will
be seen that they are each of such
very peculiar views that they are
specially fitted by their very oddly
| for life in common, and specially
disqualified from the same cause to
extend or embrace others for while
their community of oddity makes
them, by necessarily strong SYM
pathy, fit associates to be together,
it separates them by an impossible
gulf from the appreciation and SYM
pathy of the rest of mankind, who
are interested only in the ordinary
common sense concerns of life.
Besides these, there are several
other colonies which, though not
communistic, have grown out of any
attempt TO solve some of the ques-
tons raised by socialism. They are
for the most part cooperative. The
following are the principle: The
Anaheim colony in California, thirty
SIX miles from Los Angeles, which
was formed by large number of
Germans in 1857, who banded to.
gether and purchased a large tract
of land, on which they successfully
cultivate the vine in large quantities.
The property is held and worked all
together, but the interests are sepa-
rate, and will be divided in due time.
Vineland, New Jersey, on the rail-
road between Philadel ohia and Cape
May, is another. 1t was purchased
and laid out by Charles X. Lands,
in 1861 as private speculation, and
to draw the overcrowda ed population
of philadelphia into the country,
where the people could all have
comfortable homes and support them
selves by their own labor. Some
fifty thousand acres Of land were
purchased, and sold a. low rate
and on long time to actual settlers.
and improvers As result, some
twelve thousand people have been
drawn thither, who cultivate ali this
tract and work nun erous industries
besides. No liquors are allowed to
be sold in the place, so that the pop
ulatIon is exceptionally moral as we'll
as industrious, and offers a model
example of low rases and good gov
eminent. A successful colony exists
also at Prairie Home in FRANKLIN
county. Kansas, which was founded
by Frenchmap, Monsieur r. V.
Boissiere. 1t is designed to be an
association and cooperation based
on attractive industry large
number of persons contributing their
canital and labor under stringent