Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Historic District - Cassadaga, FL
Posted by: 
Janila
N 28° 57.992 W 081° 14.209
17R E 476927 N 3204301
Although there is no camp, this Spiritualist town is home to about 40 certified mediums and may be the only entire town to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Waymark Code: WMZ4G4
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 09/08/2018
Views: 20
Told as a young boy by a spirit named Seneca that he would someday found a spiritual center in the south, George Colby grew up as a practicing medium, much to the dismay of his Baptist parents. In 1867, George left his religious family and began to travel the states giving private readings and performing seances.
After a meeting with a Spiritualist in Wisconsin by the name of Theodore Giddings, Seneca advised Colby to head to Florida with the Giddings family and to obtain land there.
Settling first in Jacksonville, Colby then moved to Blue Springs in Orange City. From there, he walked into the wilderness and laid claim to the land which became the Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association.
In December 1894, a charter was formed for the Spiritualist Camp and although Colby did not live there full time, eventually he did return for one final time when he was cared for until he died in 1933.
The reputation of the camp continued to grow and today offers clases on meditation and instructions in spiritualism. The certified mediums offer counseling and psychic readings. The town was designated as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. When you visit the town, it feels as though you have stepped back a hundred years, there are very few signs of modern day progress. The post office was the most modern building that I saw amidst the old Victorian style houses.