Koreshan State Historic Site

Several communal societies were established in the United State at the turn of the century. The Shakers built communities based on celibacy and communal property before 1800. Joseph Smith led the Mormons to Utah in the mid 19th century. George Rapp founded the Harmonists in Pennsylvania. The common denominator was the search for the ideal. Florida has seen it's fair share of early pioneers from far and wide but none as unusual as Dr Cyrus Reed Teed. Situated on the grounds of Koreshan State Park is the historic settlement Teed founded known as "The Koreshan Unity".

The Unity was a religious Utopian community originally founded in upstate New York by Dr Cyrus Reed. Later, it was headquartered in Chicago before making it's permanent home south of Fort Myers in Estero, Florida, on 320 acres of land where Teed intended to find the "New Jerusalem". Among the most interesting beliefs of Koreshanity was cellular cosmogony, or the hollow earth. According to the cellular cosmogony, the earth was not a convex sphere but instead a hollow, concave cell containing the entire universe with the sun at its center and people living on Earth inside the hollow cell. I still don't understand the concept even though it was explained a few times. Koreshan's also believed that God was both male and female. They also believed in reincarnation and equality for both sexes.

The Koreshan Unity became well established by 1904 with the building of several buildings including residences, a bakery, a machine shop, a general store, a publishing house, a Planetary Court, a power plant that produced electricity not only for the Koreshan community but also parts of southwest Florida. The Bakery would produce 500-600 loaves of bread per day not only for members but to sell in the general store. The Art Hall famous for it's plays, concerts, lectures, and religious activities is where my tour started.

The Art Hall, note the lack of vegetation and no 6 lane Tamiami Trail (US 41) yet

The Art Hall today, US 41 is 200 ft to the left 

Shell pathways throughout the settlement were used for several reasons. Crushed shells reflected light in the evening making it easier to maneuver around the settlement. It also made for a firm walking surface. Approaching footsteps could be easily heard.

How did Cyrus Teed, also known as Koresh acquire the land in Estero? Teeds first trip to Florida in 1893 was a bust, the price of land was way too high. Before leaving he conducted a series of lectures and distributed pamphlets. A German immigrant, Gustave Damkohler whom homesteaded on the Estero River in 1882 became very interested in the Koreshan Unity. He believed that Koreshanity was the next great religion. He sold Teed 300 acres of undeveloped land for $200. By 1907 the Unity owned 6,000 acres in southwest Florida.

The only building on the 300 acres was Damkohler's house

Gustave Damkohler

Before the construction of the Tamiami Trail (US 41), the Estero River was the main means of transportation for goods and people. Bamboo Landing provided a formal landing to the Koreshan Unity world.

Bamboo Landing

Back in the day one would arrive at Bamboo Landing via the Estero River and walk directly to the Founders' House. This building is the oldest surviving structure on the settlement built by the Koreshans. It was also built using milled pine siding instead of logs. Pine shakes also replaced the palmetto thatch roof.

The Koreshans developed gardens for aesthetic purposes as well as a place to nourish the spirit and not the body. Exotic trees and plants were brought in from around the world.

Monkey Puzzle Tree native to 
Australia

Washingtonia Palms native to 
South America 

Tulip Tree

Sausage Tree native to Africa

Tulip Tree Flowering

The land was a wilderness in 1894 but the Koreshians were able to carve beautiful gardens through the thick mangroves, scrub oak, and saw palmettos. Trellises, gazebos, benches fountains, and bridges dotted the settlement landscape.

Once the tallest structure in Lee County, the Dining Hall was three stories tall. The upper floors were dormitories for women and children while the lower floor would accommodate everyone for meals. The building was demolished in 1949, all that remains today is the dinner bell.

Dining Hall

Dinner Bell

The day to day affairs of the Koreshan Unity was governed by a council of seven women. All lived under one roof called the Planetary Court. Each person had a separate room which could be accessed from a central hall or the outside porches.

The Planetary Court

The entire tour took about 1 1/2 hours and was well worth the $2. I only covered part of this very interesting society. Today, all that remains of the original Koreshan Unity is the College of Life Foundation in Estero. Their mission is to educate and preserve the history of southwest Florida. 

J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

Just a little catching up before I start talking about Ding Darling. Yes, we are still in Bonita Springs. Again, we cancelled some of our plans opting to stay in one place while the pups are young. They are doing great, growing like weeds.

Fortunately, I was able to get away for a day of exploring. This time I made my way to Sanibel Island where  the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge is located. As a barrier island it is fringed with shallow bays, white sandy beaches, and mangrove forests. For years the island was used by farmers but the hurricane of 1926 destroyed the agriculture industry. The building of the Sanibel Causeway in 1963 opened the flood doors for tourism.

As an avid hunter, fisherman, and political cartoonist Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling became alarmed at the loss of wildlife habitat and the possible extinction of many species. Darling was instrumental in blocking the sale of environmentally sensitive land to developers on Sanibel Island by urging President Harry S. Truman to sign an Executive Order creating Sanibel National Wildlife Refuge in 1945. The refuge was later renamed in 1967 to honor Darling.

The refuge consists of over 6,400 acres of mangroves, seagrass beds, and hardwood hammocks.
Approximately 2,800 acres of the refuge is designated as a Wilderness Area. Today, the refuge provides a safe habitat for wildlife as well as a feeding, nesting, and roosting area for migratory birds. At different times of the year there are over 220 species of birds that call the refuge home.

Seeing the refuge can be done by vehicle, guided tram, bicycle, or walking. I decided ahead of time that biking was the way to go. The one way 4 mile Wildlife Drive is open every day except Fridays. The entrance fee is $5.00 per vehicle or $1.00 per pedestrian/bicyclist 

My first stop was the mangrove forest where I was told to look for Mangrove Tree Crabs. Sure enough there were thousands of them just hanging out on the red mangrove trees.

Across the road I spotted a Snowy Egret waiting for a meal to swim by. He's not quite in breeding plumage yet.

 As I continued down the wildlife drive I couldn't help but wonder why people where driving so fast. With all this beauty it's hard not to just sit and take it all in. I sure did.

At the half way point there's an observation tower that overlooks the refuge estuary. Several shorebirds, herons, egrets, pelicans, and so on can be seen. This is by far the most popular spot along the drive.

There are three trails that can be accessed from the wildlife drive. Wulfert Keys Trail is a 1/4 mile long trail that leads to a view of Pine Island Sound. This is where I got my first taste of the dreaded no-see-ums. Man I hate those little critters. And yes I forgot my bug spray, so I was out of there real fast. No pictures. 

Closer to the end of the drive is the 1/4 mile long Shell Mound Trail. The boardwalk is a great opportunity to learn about the ancient Calusa Indians through interpretive panels.

Because the Wildlife Drive is 4 miles one way getting back is done via the 4 mile main bike path along Sanibel-Captiva Rd. A total of 8 miles got me back to my truck in time for some much needed lunch.

After lunch I still needed to see the Indigo Trail which is 4 miles round trip from the parking lot. Not being tooooo tired away I go. The Scat Education Bridge was 1/2 mile down the trail and yes it teaches you all about the scat found in the park. There's small boxes you flip open to tell which animal, bird, or reptile produced that scat. 

  













Continuing down the trail an otter crossed my path. It's pretty tough to stop the bike, grab my camera, and take a picture while the otter wants to get away as fast as possible. So of course no picture, again. But I did manage a new red mangrove tree.

My final picture of the day was a beautiful Yellow-Crowned Night Heron that was just yelling at me to take his picture.

All-in-all what a great day. The traffic was crazy trying to get back home but so worth the 5 hours I was exploring.