About 100 years before Mark’s family moved to Florida a religious utopian community settled here in 1870. Their leader, Cyrus Teed, took the name Koresh, the Hebrew translation of his name Cyrus, (meaning shepherd) and created the Koreshan Unity. Teed’s vision melded religion and science with some pretty wacky results. He believed he was anointed to build a “New Jerusalem” just south of Fort Myers and that eventually 10 million people would join him there. About 300 people were the most that ever showed up. The communal group that did join him believed the earth was hollow and earth and sky existed inside the inner surface. That earth contained the entire universe, inversely, with the sun at the center. Koreshan beliefs also included a biune God (one that was both male and female) and reincarnation. The community thrived for a while in the early 1900’s and were self sufficient, much like Amish communities are today. But because the sect eventually practiced celibacy and membership dropped, over time the community declined. In 1961, the last four Koreshan members deeded 305 acres of their land to the state and worked to ensure preservation of the site of their original settlement. The site became a Florida State Historic Site and was named Koreshan State Park. Several historic structures that date from 1882 to 1920 have been beautifully maintained within the park.
Another interesting resident of this state park is the gopher turtle; a threatened and protected species that can live as long as 40 to 50 years in the wild and sometimes 100 years in captivity. I was thrilled to get a photo of this somewhat elusive creature!
So if you love turtles and enjoy a good history lesson I highly recommend camping at Koreshan State Park.
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