Cassadaga - (Florida History and Culture) by John J Guthrie & Phillip Charles Lucas & Gary Monroe (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book tells the story of the south's oldest spirtualist community,
Cassadaga, founded in central Florida over 125 years ago on the
principle of continuous life, the idea that spirits of the dead commune
with the living.

Book Synopsis

The story of a small Florida community that has drawn spiritual seekers for over 125 years

Calling
itself a "metaphysical mecca," the small town of Cassadaga, between
Orlando and Daytona Beach in central Florida, was established more than
125 years 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.

After presenting an overview of
nineteenth-century religion, the book explores the town's early years,
distinctive architecture, ritual life, core beliefs, healing work, and
view of the future. It also probes the extent to which Cassadaga has
assimilated New Age beliefs and reflects larger trends in contemporary
American religious culture.

The study includes a group biography
based on interviews with four residents, plus a chapter on the colorful
life of Eloise Page, a practicing medium in Cassadaga for more than 40
years. In addition, it features 47 photographs that guide readers
through the town and portray residents engaged in various sacred and
everyday activities.

About the Author

John J. Guthrie, Jr. (1955-2000) was associate professor of history at Daytona Beach Community College, the author of Keepers of the Spirits: The Judicial Response to Prohibition Enforcement in Florida, 1885-1935, and coauthor of The Florida Land Boom: Speculation, Money, and the Banks.

Phillip Charles Lucas, associate professor of religious studies at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, and general editor of Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, is the author of Prime Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting and The Odyssey of a New Religion: The Holy Order of MANS from New Age to Orthodoxy.

Gary Monroe,
professor of art at Daytona Beach Community College's Southeast Museum
School of Photography, has published his photographs in several books
including Miami Beach, Haiti, and (with Jerome Stern) Florida Dreams.