Episode 152 Cyrus Teed and the Koreshan Unity

Southern Mysteries Podcast

Shannon Ballard

True Crime, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 918 Ratings

🗓️ 23 September 2024

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Koreshan State Historic Site in Estero, Florida is one of the most peculiar historic sites in the American South. This state park showcases the life of Dr. Cyrus Teed, the founder of Koreshanity. Those who joined this religious and scientific movement sought immortality through celibacy and believed the entire universe existed within a giant, hollow sphere. The Koreshan Unity has been dubbed “one of the most bizarre” communal utopian societies organized in the 19th century. They were forced to relocate several times until they found a permanent home in the swamplands of southwest Florida. Want more Southern Mysteries? Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.com Facebook: Southern Mysteries PodcastInstagram: @southernmysteriesEmail: [email protected] Recommended Reading The Allure of Immortality: An American Cult, a Florida Swamp, and a Renegade Prophet by Lyn Millner Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage by Jeff Guinn Episode Sources WGCU Gulf Coast Life: The connection between Cyrus Teed and the Koreshans and David Koresh and the Branch Davidians. March 14, 2023. The Koreshnans: Archives of former holdings of the Koreshan State Historic Site. Florida State Parks: Koreshan State Historic Site World Religious and Spirituality Project: Koreshans by Lyn Millner WGCU: Florida History: Koreshan Unity: A Quest for Utopia | Untold Stories | Florida History US Department of the Interior: Preserving America’s Utopian Dream, 2001. “Dr. Cyrus Teed and the Koreshan Unity Movement” by Catherine Anthony Ohnemus. Florida Rambler: Koreshan State Park is Florida’s strangest historic site. August 3, 2024. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Kureshan State Historic Site in Estero, Florida is situated along the
0:10.3	Estero River. It's one of the strangest historic sites
0:14.4	you'll come across in the American South.
0:17.4	Creshen State Park welcomes visitors
0:19.6	who enjoy camping, kayaking,
0:22.2	and a walking tour of the grounds and buildings which introduced visitors to Dr. Cyrus Teed, the founder of Corushenity.
0:30.0	Corresians were followers of the religious and scientific movement. Christianity. through celibacy and believe the entire universe existed within a giant hollow sphere.
0:47.0	The Cresham Unity has been dubbed one of the most bizarre communal utopian societies organized in the 19th century.
0:56.8	They were forced to relocate several times driven out of New York and Chicago until they have found a permanent home in the swamp lands of
1:06.1	Southwest Florida. Welcome to Southern Mysteries exploring Southern history and true crime.
1:14.0	I'm your host, Shannon Ballard.
1:17.0	This is the story of Cyrus Teed and the Cresham Unity.
1:23.0	Cyrus Reed Teed, the founder and prophet of Chor Christianity, was born in Delaware
1:29.3	County, New York in 1839. Teed spent his youth working on the Erie Canal, studied medicine, and served in the Union Army during the Civil War.
1:40.0	In April 1859, Cyrus Teed married his second cousin, Fidel Yoreau.
1:46.1	The following year, they welcomed their only child, Douglas,
1:49.9	and moved to Brooklyn, New York, where Teed pursued his medical studies.
1:54.9	Following his Civil War service,
1:56.7	Teed graduated from the eclectic Medical College in 1868.
2:02.2	In 1869, Teied was 30 years old, practicing eclectic medicine, which made use of botanical
2:09.3	remedies in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries.
2:14.3	Teed experimented with alchemy, the medieval forerunner of chemistry,
	...

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