Cassadaga: The South's Oldest Spiritualist Community

The Florida History and Culture Series

by John J. Guthrie (Editor), Phillip Charles Lucas (Editor), Gary Monroe (Editor)

Calling itself a "metaphysical mecca," the small town of Cassadaga, between Orlando and Daytona Beach in central Florida, was established more than a century ago on the principle of continuous life, the idea that spirits of the dead commune with the living. Though the founders of Cassadaga have passed on to the "spirit plane," the quaint Victorian town remains the oldest continuously active Spiritualist center in the South and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. While the community has often been sensationalized and misrepresented, this is the first serious work to examine its history, people, cultural environment, and religious system.

Genres: Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 18, 2000

Reviews

[Doug Dillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The editors of this book have collected scholarly writings on the Spiritualist Community of Cassadaga, Florida and presented it in 7 excellent chapters. What they offer the reader is a well balanced and detailed view describing one of the most unique towns in the United States. Research based with chapter notes and 47 photographs, the entire history and functioning of this community comes to life. Having visited Cassadaga and some of its mediums on more than one occasion, I can tell you that the writers and editors have provided a very accurate picture.

In addition to the photographs, it is the quotes from residents and the interviews with mediums that really give insight into the religious beliefs and customs found in Cassadaga. As you read these fascinating words, you soon discover how seriously people in this town take the art of communing with those who have left this life. It also becomes clear how the mediums, psychics and healers sponsored by the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp take their jobs of providing guidance and consolation to the living who seek their help.

If you are interested in spirit contact and the history of Spiritualism in the United States, you will definitely find this book something to savor.