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The First Time Estero Became a Village

Back in the early 20th century, most of the south and especially Florida, was hardcore Democrat. In the 1904 presidential election, the Koreshan Unity voted for Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican. This angered the politicians of Fort Myers, and they threw out all the Koreshans’ ballots. After that, the Koreshans filed with the state of Florida to become their own municipality, and Florida granted their petition. The Koreshans created a town seal: the sun rising over a waterscape with a swan floating on the water. At the top, a six-pointed star representing the Seal of Solomon.

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Koreshan State Park Celebrates Women’s History Month and the Women’s Right to Vote Centennial

In 1894, something extraordinary was happening along the banks of Mosquito Creek in what is now known as Koreshan State Park. Dr. Cyrus Teed had sent down the first group of his followers from Chicago to clear land and begin building what would be the foundations of his vision of a religious-utopian community called the Koreshan Unity Settlement.

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Cyrus Teed In the Army

cyrus teed in the army

In 1862 at the age of twenty-two, a young medical student named Cyrus Teed enlisted in the Union Army and joined the New York Infantry of the New York volunteers. In 1863, by then a Corporal, Teed was assigned to Brigade Headquarters where he served as special aide to acting General Woodford. Some sources indicate he also worked as an assistant physician and surgeon but he may have embellished his record with this to make him and his military service seem more important.

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