The Communistic Societies of the United States: From Personal Visit and ObservationNordhoff, Charles
History
The Communistic Societies of the United States: From Personal Visit and Observation
Nordhoff, Charles
Collective settlements -- United States
In the dwelling-house and near the kitchen I noticed a great number of
buckets, hung up to the beams, one for each member, and these are used
to carry hot water to the rooms for bathing. The dwellings are not
heated with steam. The dining-room was ornamented with evergreens and
flowers in pots.
They have no physician, but in the infirmary the sisters in charge have
sufficient skill for ordinary cases of disease.
The people are not great readers. The Bible, however, is much read. They
are fond of music.
In summer they entertain visitors at a set price, and have rooms fitted
for this purpose. In the visitors' dining-room I saw this printed
notice:
"At the table we wish all to be as free as at home, but we dislike the
wasteful habit of leaving food on the plate. No vice is with us the less
ridiculous for being fashionable.
"Married persons tarrying with us overnight are respectfully notified
that each sex occupy separate sleeping apartments while they remain."
They had at Canterbury formerly a printing-press, and printed a now
scarce edition of hymns, and several books. This press has been sold.
The trustees here give once a year an inventory and statement of
accounts to the elders of the Church Family. In the years 1848-9 they
suffered severe losses from the defalcation of an agent or trustee, but
they have long ago recovered this loss, and now owe no debts.
Agriculture they believe to be the true base of community life, and if
their land were fertile they would be glad to leave off manufacturing
entirely. But on such land as they have they cannot make a living.
The leading elder of the society remarked to me that, though in numbers
they were less than formerly, the influence of the Canterbury Society
upon the outside world was never so great as now: their Sunday meetings
in summer are crowded by visitors, and they believe that often their
doctrines sink deep into the hearts of these chance hearers.
_Enfield, N. H._
The Society at Enfield lies in Grafton County, about twelve miles
southeast from Dartmouth College, and two miles from Enfield Station, on
the Northern New Hampshire Railroad. It is composed of three families,
having altogether at this time one hundred and forty members, of whom
thirty-seven are males and one hundred and three females. This
preponderance arises chiefly, I was told, from the large number of young
sisters. There are thirty-five youth under twenty-one years of age, of
whom eight are boys and twenty-seven girls. In 1823 the Enfield Society
had over two hundred members; thirty years ago it had three hundred and
thirty members. They do not now receive many applications for
membership, and of those who apply but few remain.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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