In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

51 CHAPTER FOUR Seeking the Ideal Community in Oregon in the 1880s and 1890s Y Y Y In the quarter century from the founding of the Aurora Colony in 1856 to its dissolution, there are no known successful attempts at establishing communal societies in Oregon. The years prior to, during, and immediately following the Civil War were a time of diminished activity in communal experiments nationally, particularly compared to the large number of such ventures in the 1840s, considered the heyday of communal settlements in the United States until the late 1960s.1 Numerous factors are attributed to these shifts, most significantly the Civil War, but other factors such as economic conditions, availability of lands, advancements in transportation and other technologies, and a broad range of social, political, and other influences also play a role. Consistent with the dichotomous nature of utopian endeavors, such influences can be seen as deterrents to communal experiments or as the impetus for these endeavors. Overall, however, the enthusiasm for utopian societies dissipated after mid-century and would only see a modest spike again as the new century approached. The newly established state of Oregon (1859) followed this general pattern and would not see any successful attempt at a communal settlement, other than Aurora, until the 1880s. A small and diverse array of communities was attempted prior to the end of the century. None of these would last as long as the Aurora Colony, nor have the broader impact of Wilhelm Keil and his followers, but they are an important part of the story of Oregon’s utopian heritage. Aiming at the Stars in Douglas County The first documented successful attempt to establish a utopian colony in Oregon in the 1880s had some distinctive qualities that would be unmatched in Oregon’s utopian heritage. Although it lasted less than five years, outside of the Aurora Colony it is one of the most documented of Oregon’s utopian endeavors. This is largely because of the nature of the colony and the various ties it had with other communal experiments and reform activities in the United States and elsewhere. The community is the New Odessa Colony in Douglas County. The roots of this experiment lie in tsarist Russia, particularly during the initial year of the reign of Alexander III, who had risen to power following Chapter Four 52 the assassination of his father, Alexander II, on March 13, 1881. Soon after Alexander II’s death, anti-Jewish pogroms began to take place, in part due to the actual and perceived involvement of Jews in the assassination plot, but also as part of a broader wave of anti-Semitism that developed in parts of Europe following the economic depression of the 1870s. In response to these pogroms, several radical elements among Jewish students and intellectuals formed groups seeking broader reforms and even revolution. Some sought to remain in Russia and push for the revolution that would topple the tsarist regime. Others thought that revolution was futile and sought emigration as the solution. Among the latter, two distinct movements evolved—one that saw their destination as Palestine, called BILU (“Beir Ya’ako Leku Ve-neklja,” meaning “Let the house of Jacob go,” from Isaiah 2:5), and a second group that looked to America as their destination and destiny. This group was called Am Olam (meaning “the eternal people” in Hebrew), a term inspired by an article by that title written by Peretz Smotenskin and published in 1872 in the Hebrew publication Hashahar (The Dawn).2 The Am Olam movement was located in several Russian towns and cities but the largest concentration seems to have been in Odessa, a major port city on the Black Sea, where the movement was organized by Moyshe (Moses) Herder and Monye Bokal. The motto of Am Olam was “Jewish colonization,” and “their ultimate goal,” as Abraham Menes notes, “was the establishment of a home for the Jewish people in free America and some of them even toyed with the idea of establishing an autonomous Jewish state or ‘canon’ in the United States.” Menes goes on to state that, “Their immediate task was the normalization of Jewish economic life” and this normalization “entailed eschewing ‘unproductive callings’ such as business and the intermediary occupations, and engaging in agriculture exclusively.”3 The emblem chosen to represent their goals and Jewish ties was the plow and the Ten Commandments. The members of Am Olam were not the only Jewish immigrants seeking to form agrarian communities at this...

Share