William Wedge

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William Wedge

William Keil (born March 6, 1812 in Prussia as Wilhelm Keil , † December 30, 1877 in the United States ) was the founder of a religious community in Bethel in the US state of Missouri and in Aurora in Oregon .

His teaching was heavily influenced by Lutheran , Pietist, and Methodist principles. The core component was the doctrine of mutual ethics, known as the Golden Rule , in which the sharing of common goods was of particular importance. The fellowship referred to the Acts of the Apostles (4: 32–37).

From Germany to America

Keil was born to Lutheran parents in Prussia during the Napoleonic Wars . In Darmstadt he worked as a cleaner . As a young man, he emigrated to the United States in 1831 , possibly inspired by the mystical text of a gypsy woman . First he worked as a tailor in New York City , then as a druggist and doctor in Pittsburgh . There he was influenced by utopian and revivalist ideas .

Priest and preacher

Eventually he was won over by William Nast (1807-1899) for German Methodism and ordained a priest. However, he soon separated from the Methodist Church, became an independent preacher and built a large congregation for himself. This consisted mostly of former members of the Harmony Society (see Radical Pietism ), plus other converts , mostly Germans and Dutch.

Together with his German wife he went to Pennsylvania , where he gained a certain reputation as a mystic and healer .

Utopian community in Missouri

In 1844 part of the community moved to Bethel in northern Missouri , around 70 km west of Hannibal , where a utopian community was born. In the next year, numerous followers followed who set up a place. In 1850 the colony had 476 members, and Keil had decision-making power in all matters. Each family received a house and everyone worked according to their abilities and strengths. No records were kept of who had given, done or received what. Food was served in the community shops every Saturday, and clothes were distributed in spring and autumn. Most of them worked in agriculture , but they also ran a tannery , a blacksmith's shop , a sawmill and a flour mill , a tailor's shop, a distillery and a few looms. In 1855 the community already had 650 members. They owned 4,000 acres in Shelby County and over 700 acres in Adair County . The most important principle was: "Everyone according to their abilities, everyone according to their needs."

Relocation to Oregon

Despite great success, the community relocated again between 1853 and 1856, this time to Oregon . This is where Aurora Mills originated . To this end, a trek made of 25 covered  wagons led by 75 Bethel colonists set out in 1855 and covered more than 3000 km to the destination. Shortly before the start of the trip, however, Keil's eldest son, Willie , died, whose body - he had been promised he would drive in the first car - was preserved in whiskey , only to be buried in Raymond in Washington Territory .

The nine-man vanguard initially chose a settlement on Willapa Bay in Washington, but the area proved too wet and remote to be able to farm and trade. After a harsh winter on Willapa Bay, Keil traveled to Portland in search of a more suitable job .

The Pudding River near Aurora

In 1856 he bought land on the Pudding River . After arriving in the Willamette valley , people first settled in the middle of the forest to have material for building their houses. So the community built a new colony that was named after Keil's daughter: Aurora. Keil had already bought a sawmill and a gristmill from the previous owner. While other settlers on the cheap farmland got into debt over the next few years because they had to buy wood at a high price, the colonists Keils gradually bought their lands from the income from the timber trade. In addition, Keil bought cheap apples from neighbors and sold apple cider vinegar made from the peel for several times over. Soon the community had to rely on outside labor, many of whom were permanent. Alcoholics and "vain" people had to leave the community again.

Keil ran both the Missouri and Oregon colony. After the last covered wagon from Missouri arrived in Aurora in 1867, around 600 people lived there on 18,000 acres of land, in Missouri around 400. The colony sold fruit from their gardens, lumber, shoes and textiles, furniture, baskets and metal goods. Once the needs of the community were met, the individual members could sell the remaining surplus for their own benefit. Keil placed great emphasis on external contacts, and so a hotel was built that offered German cuisine . Keil also got in touch with the railroad companies, such as the Oregon & California Rail Road Company founded in 1862 , in order to connect Aurora to the emerging railroad network.

Charles Nordhoff made Aurora ("Dutchtown") known nationwide

The colony became known through Charles Nordhoff's book The Communistic Societies of the United States . Harper & Brothers, New York 1875. Aurora was known as Dutchtown at the time. Rail travelers found the hotel directly across from the train station. Nordhoff quotes a friend as saying: “Oh, yes - Dutchtown; you'll feed better there than any where else in the state. "(O yes - Dutchtown, you can eat better there than anywhere else in the state.)

In 1872, Keil decided to give the heads of families their houses, which had previously officially belonged to him personally.

After Keil's death

After Keil's death in 1877, the community disintegrated, disbanding in Missouri in 1879 and Oregon in 1883. The community members received a share of the proceeds from the sale of the land and the buildings. Many took over their own businesses, and numerous descendants still live in the region today.

The thirty remaining buildings in Missouri have been on the list of Important Historic Places, the National Register of Historic Places , since 1970 . In particular, the Big House , a restaurant and sleeping place for unmarried people, the Ziegler House , the former metal goods store, the school, the David Bower House , i.e. the General Store, and the David Bower House and the office, which have largely been preserved in their original state of the Colony Office.

Less remained in Oregon. The wooden church was torn down, as was the Great House that Keil had owned. The construction of Highway 99E in 1933 and a bridge over Mill Creek the next year cut the place up. Still, around twenty sites were added to the National Register of Historic places in 1974 , making Aurora the first Historic District in Oregon.

It was of considerable importance that after the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the foundation in 1956, the decision was made to build a museum. In 1963, Amy Hurst sold her house, built in 1859/1860, to the Aurora Colony Historical Society . This is where the Old Aurora Colony Museum was built.

literature

Web links

Commons : William Keil  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b His tombstone can be found here.
  2. ↑ Wedge family . Old Aurora Colony (English)
  3. ^ Oregon and California Railroad . ( Memento from October 29, 2005 on the Internet Archive ) In: Oregon History Project.
personal data
SURNAME Wedge, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Keil, Wilhelm (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Founder of a religious community in Bethel, Missouri, and Aurora, Oregon
DATE OF BIRTH March 6, 1812
PLACE OF BIRTH Prussia
DATE OF DEATH December 30, 1877
Place of death United States