Israelite House of David / Mary's City of David
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Historic Markers
N 42° 06.520 W 086° 25.779
16T E 547155 N 4661999
There is plenty of parking around this area
Waymark Code: WMXWQW
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 03/09/2018
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member lumbricus
Views: 9

Based on the teachings of the Christian Israelite tradition begun by Joanna Southcott in England in 1792, Benjamin and Mary Purnell founded the House of David communal religious community in Benton Harbor in 1903. At its peak the colony had one thousand members, including artists, businessmen, and inventors. During the 1920s the colony used Michigan's growing auto tourism industry to fund its development. One of the largest landowners in southwest Michigan, it operated prize-winning farms, an amusement park with miniature trains, an ice cream parlor, and a zoo. The House of David baseball teams, with there long hair and beards, were popular fixtures on the national barnstorming circuit in the 1920s and 1930s.

After the death of Benjamin Purnell in 1927, the Israelite House of David religious community split over spiritual direction and accumulation of assets. Purnell's wife, Mary, left and founded Mary's City of David on this adjacent site in 1930. She retained control of four large farms and a ninety-room hotel next to Benton Harbor's expansive fruit market, which provided income fro the colony. Between 1930 and 1950, members designed and constructed this complex of vernacular building. At a time when resorts were restricted by race and ethnicity, the colony welcomed Jewish visitors by building cabins and a synagogue to accommodate them and opening vegetarian restaurants that attracted Orthodox Jewish vacationers from Chicago.
Parking nearby?: yes

Registered Site #: S0717

Historical Date: Not listed

Historical Name: Not listed

Description: Not listed

D/T ratings: Not listed

website: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Take a photo of your GPS at the marker. We'd prefer a photo of you with your GPS, but we realize that sometimes that's just not possible or preferable. Also include a bit about your visit to the marker.

NEW: Instructions for logging Missing Marker Visits.

If the Marker is missing, but still listed here, you must provide a photo of you at the actual item historically honored. (This should be the waymark's "default" image). Indicate in your log that you took your photo at the Historical Location instead of the marker, because the marker was missing. Please also still include a bit about your visit to the site.

Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Michigan Historical Markers
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log User Rating  
BinderyGuy visited Israelite House of David / Mary's City of David 01/15/2023 BinderyGuy visited it
Historic Markers visited Israelite House of David / Mary's City of David 03/08/2018 Historic Markers visited it

View all visits/logs