Eden Springs Kasischke Paperback MP–WST Wayne State Uni Press 9780814334645

Eden SpringsAuthor(s): Laura Kasischke\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Wayne State University Press, United States\nImprint: Wayne State University Press\nISBN-13: 9780814334645, 978-0814334645\nSynopsis\nIn 1903, a preacher named Benjamin Purnell and five followers founded a colony called the House of David in Benton Harbor, Michigan, where they prepared for eternal life by creating a heaven on earth. Housed in rambling mansions and surrounded by lush orchards and vineyards, the colony added a thousand followers to its fold within a few years, along with a zoo, extensive gardens, and an amusement park. The sprawling complex, called Eden Springs, was a major tourist attraction of the Midwest. The colonists, who were drawn from far and wide by the magnetic \""King Ben,\"" were told to keep their bodies pure by not cutting their hair, eating meat, or engaging in sexual relations. Yet accounts of life within the colony do not reflect such an austere atmosphere, as the handsome, charming fo.