Koreshan Historical Site

3/31 Easter Sunday visit to the Koreshan Historical Site

This morning we decided to take advantage of a day with no commitments and drive out to the Corkscrew Sanctuary for some birding. We’d been getting reports that the storks were nesting and with the low water, feeding opportunities were attracting lots of migrant birds.

At the Koreshan Historic Settlement

After a quiet morning with our traditional Sunday breakfast of Blueberry Pancakes finished, the kitchen cleaned and the dogs walked, we headed north on I-75. We’d been having a pleasant conversation about upcoming trips when I realized we had passed our exit by a good six miles. Oooops! Oh well, being flexible I asked Tina whether we could get there from the next exit. Using her phone to check Google Maps, we could do it but it would be pretty roundabout having to go to Immokalee first.

As we were taking the next exit I saw a sign for Koreshan State Historical Site. Since t/his is one of the places we have been meaning to visit, we chose to go there and then do an early morning trip on Wednesday out to Corkscrew. Two miles west of I-75 we came to the entrance. The Historical Site is actually part of the Koreshan State Park, so after paying our entrance fee we followed the signs to the parking lot arriving just before 11am.

After parking the car we started a self guided tour of the facilities. Originally settled as a utopian community by Cyrus Reed Teed and his followers in 1894 with the intent to build New Jerusalem for his new faith, Koreshanity. The colony, known as the Koreshan Unity, believed in celibacy, hard work and that the entire universe existed within a giant, hollow sphere.

Art Hall

Our walk along crushed shell paths took us past the “Art Hall", a large building that served as the Religious, Educational and Cultural hub of the community. As we walked through the grounds it was also evident that the Koreshans believed in beautification through gardens. Everywhere along the walkways were imported trees and shrubs that provided color as well as shade.

Next was the Planetary Court, home of the seven women “Planetary Chamber”, the governing body of the community.  This two story building has been remarkably preserved with furniture brought from Chicago and all the hand poured glass windows still in the original frames.

Planetary Court

From there we walked over to the “Bamboo Landing”, the original entrance to the community until the 1920’s when the Tamiami Trail (US-41) was built. Located on the Estero River, transportation to and from the community during the first twenty years was entirely by boat.

Damkohler Cottage

Not far from the landing was the Damkohler House, named for the original owner of the land that was given to the Koreshan Community and on to the “New Store” built in 1920 to replace the old store.

Bridge to Monkey Puzzle Island

Continuing our tour we passed the Bakery and the “Mounds” before crossing a bridge onto “Monkey Puzzle Island. Originally there were two Monkey Puzzle trees planted here but one was lost in a hurricane. Since then two new trees have been planted as replacements. The remaining tree must be over 60 feet tall and is probably the most beautiful tree of its kind I’ve ever seen.

Hiking along Estero River

It was a fascinating tour and as it was still early, decided to go for a hike along the Estero River eventually ending up at the old Machine Shop where volunteers were serving Easter Bread which had been baked on site. By this time we had completed the two and a half mile circuit of the property and decided to call it a day.

Machine Shop Building

Inside the Machine Shop

Powerhouse Building

Inside the Powerhouse

Returning to the car we headed back to I-75. Tina wanted to stop at Target so we got off on Immokalee only to find the store closed for Easter Sunday. So we stopped at “Chilly’s Restaurant for lunch (very good) then headed home. Another excellent adventure in beautiful and interesting SW Florida!

Ta ta for now.....