Equality Colony - Freeland

Freeland

In autumn 1904 the colony was visited by Alexander Horr, a proponent of Theodor Hertzkas "Freeland" concept. He returned next year with more of his followers and soon the colonys' population grew by 30%. By the summer of 1905 Horr was able to change the BCCs constitution drastically to adhere to the Freeland concept. A new "local union" was established in New York, and five others in the near vicinity. The changes were not appreciated by the colony's older residents who started to resist the conversion of the colony to the new scheme in late 1905 and the colony became bitterly divided between the two factions, sometimes resulting in violence.

The final factor in the demise of the colony occurred February 6, 1906, when an unknown person or group of people set fire to several buildings at night. The worst loss was the barn, which burned completely to the ground, killing most of the colony's cattle. The perpetrator was never identified, but each factions blamed the other for the arson. The colonists voted to dissolve the colony and the BCC went into receivership; its history ended when its land was sold for 12,500 dollars to John J. Peth on June 1, 1907. A few families stayed in the area on plots of land that they owned individually.