page_title: Spirit Fruit Society
section_title: Lisbon, Ohio, the beginning
hierarchical_section_title: Spirit Fruit Society / History / Lisbon, Ohio, the beginning
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of the Spirit Fruit Society's "Open House" in Lisbon, Ohio, June 26, 1904
context_page_description: The Spirit Fruit Society was a communitarian group in the United States that was organized after a period of repeated business depressions during the 1890s. The society had its beginnings in Lisbon, Ohio and, over the years of its existence moved to Ingleside, Illinois and, finally, to California. Plagued by rumor, suspicion, and attacks in the press during its early years, the group remained active until 1930. Although it never numbered more than a handful of adherents, the Spirit Fruit Society existed longer and more successfully than any other American utopian group.
  The name is derived from the group's belief that mankind's spiritual state is that of a bud or blossom on a plant and that man's soul has not yet developed into a fruit from a blossom. The goal of the society was to bring the soul to fruition. As the society's founder, Jacob Beilhart, said in documents for incorporation of the society, "... as yet, man is an underdeveloped 'plant' which has not manifested the final fruit, which he is to produce." The essential philosophy of the group was based upon a belief in self-renunciation, hard work, tolerance, and peace.
context_section_description: In 1896, Beilhart returned to Ohio and settled in Lisbon, close to where he was reared. Paramount among the reasons for his return was the confession of Louema Beilhart that her two children were not his, but C. W. Post's. She soon left Lisbon for her home in La Cygne, Kansas. In 1899, Beilhart decided to create an intentional community to practice his newly developed beliefs and to demonstrate this practice to others. In the aftermath of the Civil War, a number of communitarian groups were started around the United States. The rise in activism was further promoted by the effects of the depression at end of the 19th century. By this time, however, McKinley prosperity had developed and, in any case, Beilhart never displayed a particular interest in politics or economics. At this time he started two newspapers, Spirit Fruit and Spirit Voice, which were widely distributed and supported by donations. The Spirit Fruit Society was officially incorporated as a religious organization in 1901. The stated goal in the incorporation documents was to "teach mankind how to apply the truths taught by Jesus Christ." Beilhart made no attempt to solicit members for his commune and sometimes rejected applicants when he felt they were not fit candidates. As a result, the commune only attracted about a dozen residents, mostly from outside the area.
  The group did not beg or in any way disturb their neighbors. Beilhart preached in Chicago and elsewhere, but was not known to proselytize strongly. While the group typically kept to themselves, their mysterious nature led to misconceptions and suspicion in the press. Specifically, the birth of Beilhart's niece, Evelyn, was cause for concern as her mother, Mary Beilhart (Jacob's sister), was not married to the child's father, Ralph E. Galbreath (cousin of Ohio State Librarian Charles Burleigh Galbreath and State Senator Asher A. Galbreath). Dubbed the "Love Child", this birth prompted newspapers to characterize the group as a free-love society of promiscuity. The arrival of "Blessed" Katherine Herbeson, a teenager from Chicago, also gave concern. It was reported in the press that "Blessed" was either held against her will or brainwashed by the society. Her father and brother came and 'rescued' her and she was forced to leave the society against her wishes. Additional negative publicity occurred when Beilhart objected to his wife's petition for alimony.
  In 1904, numerous newspaper articles and editorials were written, mostly in Chicago, about the society. Those articles were often sensationalist and tended to put the society in a bad light. The views of the society, particularly those against marriage and promoting free love, were not accepted well in the small Ohio village of Lisbon. In fact, a local newspaper reprinted a warning that had been distributed in the community: "Wanted – Fifty good women, over twenty and under fifty years of age; also fifty good honest-hearted men with families, to meet upon the Square when called upon, and go to the Spirit Fruit farm and tell them to take their departure at once or take the consequences, as tar is cheap and feathers plentiful."
  In June 1904, Beilhart invited the public to an 'open house' where he attempted to explain the motives and beliefs of the society. Over 400 people attended the gathering. Among them, it has been claimed, were Clarence Darrow and Elbert Hubbard but this has not been documented, although Beilhart is known to have visited Hubbard in East Aurora and Darrow was a frequent visitor to the society during the Chicago and Ingleside years. In the end, the society's rejection of marriage on the grounds that it made a 'slave of the woman', and the misinterpretations of their views on free-love were too much for the people of Lisbon to accept. In late 1904, the group left Lisbon for Chicago, in the hope that their progressive ideas might be better tolerated there.
caption: Spirit Fruit Society Open House – Lisbon, Ohio, 1904
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