by Roger Parlin, Volunteer, Docent, Tour Guide
Dr. Cyrus Teed’s vision of the world expressed in the sect he founded and called Koreshanity reflects his religious and scientific beliefs, much of which, according to Teed, was given to him in his “Illumination” in 1869. Foremost, and arguably the most outlandish of his beliefs, was that we lived inside a hollow earth. Teed was not alone; other notable scientists of the day also posited the earth was hollow.
Continue reading “The Koreshan World”
By Mona Meyer, Archives and Special Collections Metadata Librarian, David L. Rice Library, University of Southern Indiana. Reprinted here with permission. To learn more about the Koreshans, take a guided historic tour of the Historic Settlement at Koreshan State Park.
You probably recognize that tagline from the many Ripley’s Believe It or Not! attractions, and the phrase has come into common parlance. I’m going to introduce you to the former Koreshan Unity society, and you’ll soon see why I chose this title.
Great interview by Craig Pittman (pictured above) with Lyn Millner who recalls the Koreshan cult, which, among other things, believed the earth was hollow and that their founder, Cyrus Teed, was immortal.
Continue reading “Podcast: Welcome to Florida: The Cult of Cyrus Teed”
Above image is an aerial photo of the Koreshan Unity, Hwy. 41 and Estero Florida, ca. 1958.
In early Estero, author Quentin Quesnell wrote that when the Spanish came to Mound Key near the mouth of the Estero River in 1567, they found the thriving capital of the native Calusa Indians. By the 1700s, the dwindling Calusa had fled to Key West, then Cuba, leaving the area to Cuban fisherman, outlaws, and pirates.
Continue reading “The History of Estero, Florida”
