Modern Times

Modern Times disbanded in 1857 and changed its name to Brentwood in 1964.

According to one former resident, the settlers believed "that they were founding a true Commonwealth on a broader foundation than had been conceived or attempted during all Human History,":3686 and thus the residents were "willing to sacrifice much in building an Equitable Village which should be an example of Harmony and Justice and which should be a bright and shining light to all the world--a beacon to show the way out from the many evils of competition and tyranny which had for all time dominated in human relations." According to one visitor, the movement "does inspire its votaries with a confidence and zeal that cannot be surpassed.": 3704

In 1852 Warren claimed in The Science of Society that in Modern Times, "the laboring classes might step out from under the present system, and place themselves in a condition of independence above that system." :3686

A frequently repeated story of the community said "A Jewish peddler dropped his gold watch and chain on the street as he was passing through the village. A local resident found the watch and hung it on a nail on the bulletin board outside of Thespian Hall. There it remained for ten days, until the peddler returned to the village, saw his watch and claimed it."

## Establishment

### Founding

In 1850 Josiah Warren and Stephen Pearl Andrews rode out on the newly completed Long Island Railroad to barren area of Long Island. The land had been clear-cut and abandoned by developers, making it an ideal place for their villagers to make a fresh start. Warren later wrote, "There was not, at that time, even a cow path in sight, among the scrub oaks that were everywhere breast high."Together Warren and Andrews financed 750 acres with little money down and a 5 year bond on the balance. Andrews wasn't involved in the community much beyond that, but Warren became the founder and first resident of Modern Times.:3636-50

### Population

Within 3 years 60 'pioneers' had come to the community.:3686 In 18  Within a few years Warren complained that some of the new arrivals "were full of 'crotchets.;"

> "There was a blind nudist. Another man paraded his children naked through the streets of Modern Times because he believed the young should not wear clothes. One woman tried, and failed, to survive on a diet of unsalted beans.":3728
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Warren wrote,

> "One man began to advocate plurality of wives, and published a paper to support his views; another believed clothing to be a superfluity, and not only attempted to practice his Adamic theories in person, but imposed his views upon his hapless children. A woman with an ungainly form displayed herself in public in man’s attire, which gave rise to the newspaper comment: "The women dress in men’s clothing and look hideous." Still another young woman had the diet mania so severely that, after living on beans without salt until reduced to a skeleton she died within a year."
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A former resident recalled

"every kind of reform was advocated, from that of Abolition of chattel slavery, women's rights, vegetarianism, hydropathy (and all the -pathies), peace anti-tobacco, total abstinence and the bloomer costume and every new and strange propoisition was welcomed by a respectful hearing." :3728

Warren did not support all of these movements or eccentricities, but he believed that they all had "the great sacred right of freedom to do silly things.":3728

The population peaked at 250 people, including 'farmers, dentists, physicians, merchants, mechanics, masons, harness makers, blacksmiths, and cobblers.'3782

### Notable Residents & Visitors

Around 1854, Henry Edger, a Positivist who would become one of Comte's ten disciples, moved to Modern Times, after previously living in several other reformist communities. Though Warren and some other residents thought of Edger as an "interloper and a spy," they didn't kick him out. While living at Modern Times, Edger wrote a letter to August Compte which began a famous correspondence (it was published in Paris) between the two men. This brought attention to the community, which was soon considered the "American Center of Positivism."

### The Public

The first detailed account the public recieved of Modern Times was written by a young social reformer and clergyman named Rev. Moncure Daniel Conway, who would later "become celebrated as a humanitarian and the author of some 70 books and pamphlets," on topics including Free Thought and Free Love. As he later wrote,

> "I received a letter making some inquiry, which was dated “Modern Times, N.Y.... Having occasion afterwards to write to a friend in New York, I inquired if he knew anything of such a place. “It is,” he answered “a village on Long Island, founded and conducted upon the principal that each person shall mind his or her own business.” It is needless to say that after this the place seemed to me mystic and impossible."
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## Community Structure

### **Facilities and Landscape**

Of the 750 leased acres, 90 were set aside for the town itself. There were 7 streets running north and south, and 7 avenues running east and west. A grid of 49 blocks was created, which Warren divided into 4 lots each "so each family would have a corner lot with room for a truck garden.":3650 Running through the center (north-south) of each block was a 12 foot wide alley. Each lot was sold at cost, which was twenty dollars.":3650

Josiah Warren build the first permanent house in the community, out of bricks he made from Long Island gravel and lime and then sundried. He quickly sold the home after its completion (at cost, $120) and built a "larger, two-story structure that housed a Time Store, a print shop, and a 'Mechanical College,' where Warren taught the new settlers the arts of brickmaking, carpentry, letterpress stereotyping, and music.":3686

They helped each other build their homes and they planted fruit and shade trees along the roads.:3704

Most iconic of the buildings was an octangonal house at Brentwood and 3rd that was built by William Upham Dame, which still stands today. Meetings and dances took place on the second floor.:3764

### **Economy**

Since the town relied so heavily on labor notes as currency, they were not as devastated as many other communities during the Panic of 1857.3782

### **Social Structure**

#### **Fashion**

The women wore bloomers, then a craze, and the men "wore their hair long, a sort of badge--an outward sign of their affiliation with progress."3782

#### **Marriage**

As Rev. Conway would later report,

> "The arrangements of marriage were, of course, left entirely to the men and women themselves. They could be married formally or otherwise, live in the same or separate houses, and have their relation known or unknown to the rest of the village. The relation could be dissolved at pleasure without any formulas. Certain customs had grown out of the absence of marriage laws. Secrecy was very general, and it was not considered polite to inquire who might be the father of a newborn child, or who the husband or wife of any individual might be. Those who stood in the relation of husband or wife wore upon the finger a red thread; and so long as that badge was visible the person was understood to be married. If it disappeared the marriage was at an end."
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#### **Social Activities**

Meetings and Dances were held on the second floor of William Upham Dame's octagonal house. The town also had "a glee club, a thespian club, a Shakespeare reading club, a philosophy club, and even a short-lived football club, which ended when... "the philosophers" of Modern Times realized they 'were better at talking than kicking each other's shins.'

### **Leisure**

#### **Intellectual Culture**

There was a group of Positivists, including Henry Edger, considered one of Comte's disciples. They brought Comte's "Religion of Humanity" to Modern Times.

## Decline & Dissolution

### Decline

The 5 year contract for land price stability ended in 1857, and soon speculators descended on the town's unclaimed lots. Since they had not grown large enough to be truly self-sufficient and do away with with money all together, with the sudden influx of capitalists speculators, families, and businesses, the community's system of equitable commerce broke down.:3782

According to one resident, some of the problem laid with the overly optimistic idealists, and so many of the residents who were not capable of living up to the town's ideals. As one resident recalled,

> "The fundamental mistake that we made was in thinking that even a small percent of those who are clamorous and insistent for Justice are honest and in earnest; they are not, and with sadness I write it, they want to prate and shout for it but are far from ready to practice.":3800
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The resident also believed some blame belonged to Warren's poor leadership,

> "He lacked the fit of languages and especially in addressing a public audience. Also he was a timid man and hated to wrangle, and after a discussion would retire to his home for 1-6 weeks at a time. He thus lacked the ability to present and maintain his views--I think that if he had had the gift of art of leadership the fortune of this Village and its founder would have been very different, that we should have won success, even if not the aims we strove for.":3800
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The town's name was changed from Modern Times to Brentwood on September 7, 1864 to escape the association with Free Love. The name was suggested by a famous resident named Henry Edger who hailed from Brentwood, England.

### Dissolution

There was no specific end of Modern Times. After the civil war, though Warren had left several years before, many residents returned to the community and lived there for the rest of their lives. As the original residents aged and the town filled in with capitalists, labor notes faded into disuse.:3818

## Legacy

### Recollections

Rev. Moncure Daniel Conway wrote of his first visit to Modern Times,

> "Presently I came to the verge of a village, and saw a cluster of houses standing pure and white under the clear light of the moon, which was just rising, each with a garden. The street before me was absolutely silent except for the voices of a boy and a girl who walked together talking in low and pleasant tones. I asked for the address of the person named to me in the letter already mentioned. The house was pointed out and I knocked at the door. I was soon introduced to its occupant, a lady,who was surrounded by one or two Modern-timers; and having stated that I wished to learn something about the village and its ways, was very cordially received.
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>     “You will not find us,” she said, “a Goldenthal; we are rather poor, but if you are interested in our ideas, you may find us worthy of a visit.”"
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### In Pop Culture

Little remains of Modern Times.

> "Did Warren's insistence that no constitutions be written add to the ephemeral nature of his legacy? Did his great distrust of language mean that little of it would be used to claim a place for him in this country's history?":3818
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## Further Reading

* Wunderlich, Roger. *Low Living and High Thinking at Modern Times, New York*. Syracuse University Press, 1992.
* Bailie, William. *Josiah Warren, the First American Anarchist: A Sociological Study*. Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1906.

## External Links

* Legacy of Modern Times, an L.I. Utopia from The New York Times, 1989.
* An Experiment in Anarchy, Elizabeth Moore

## References

1. ↑ "Andrews, Stephen Pearl (1812-1886)." The Vault at Pfaff's. http: //lehigh.edu/pfaffs. Eds. Edward Whitley and Rob Weidman. January 18, 2018
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 Reece, Erik. Utopia Drive : A Road Trip through America’s Most Radical Idea. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017. Kindle edition.
3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Dyson, Verne. “A History of Modern Times.” Brentwood Public Library, 2015. http://brentwoodnylibrary.org/modern\_times/modern\_times.htm.