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Fruitlands (transcendental center)
Encyclopedia
Fruitlands was a Utopia
n agrarian commune
established in Harvard, Massachusetts
by Amos Bronson Alcott
and Charles Lane
in the 1840s, based on Transcendentalist principles. An account of its less-than-successful activities can be found in Alcott's daughter Louisa May Alcott
's Transcendental Wild Oats.
Lane purchased what was known as the Wyman farm and its 90 acres (364,217.4 m²), which also included a dilapidated house and barn. Residents of Fruitlands ate no animal substances, drank only water, bathed in unheated water, and did not use artificial light. Additionally, property was held communally, and no animal labor was used.
The community was short-lived and lasted only seven months. It was dependent on farming, which turned out to be too difficult. The original farmhouse, along with other historic buildings from the area, is now a part of Fruitlands Museum
.
, came up with the idea of Fruitlands in 1841. He traveled to England the following year, where he hoped to find support and people to participate with him in the experiment. England was home to his strongest group of supporters, a group of educators who had founded the Alcott House
, a school based on his philosophy of teaching
. One of his supporters was Charles Lane, who journeyed with him to the United States on 21 October 1842.
In May 1843, Lane purchased the 90 acres (364,217.4 m²) Wyman Farm in Harvard, Massachusetts
for $1800. Though Alcott had come up with the idea of Fruitlands himself, he was not involved in purchasing the land, largely because he was penniless after the failure of his Temple School
and his subsequent years in Concord, Massachusetts
as a farmer. In July, Alcott announced their plans in The Dial
: "We have made an arrangement with the proprieter of an estate of about a hundred acres, which liberates this tract from human ownership". They had officially moved to the farm on June 1 and optimistically named it "Fruitlands" despite only ten old apple trees on the property.
In principle, the Fruitlands reformers did not believe in purchasing property
; Lane said the following on the subject: "We do not recognize the purchase of land; but its redemption from the debasing state of proprium, or property, to divine uses, we clearly understand; where those whom the world esteems owners are found yielding their individual rights to the Supreme Owner." The commune attracted 14 residents, including the Alcott and Lane families. By July, the community had succeeded in planting 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) of grains, one of vegetables, and one of melons.
Fruitlands ultimately failed the winter after it opened, largely due to food shortages and accompanying unrest in the inhabitants. The rigors of a New England winter proved too severe for the members of the Fruitlands.
Many of Alcott's and Lane's ideas were derived from Transcendentalism
. They were influenced by the Transcendental ideas of God not as the traditional view from the Bible but as a world spirit. Alcott's view of Transcendentalism was a sort of religious anarchism
, a renunciation of the world to focus on the spirit. The members of Fruitlands believed that spiritual regeneration was linked to physical health, that "outward abstinence is a sign of inward fullness". Though it was based on working together as a community, Fruitlands also hoped for individualistic improvement. Alcott also believed in the perfect intuition of children and, therefore, put a strong emphasis on education and hoped that their innocence would have a rejuvenating effect on elders.
, who held property communally. However, the Shakers were not completely self-sufficient; they traded their hand-made goods for coffee
, tea
, meat and milk. Bronson Alcott and Lane eliminated the need to trade for these supplies because they eliminated animal products and stimulants from their diets entirely.
In the end, the Fruitlands community had no effect on the economy of the outside world; Fruitlands allowed its residents to practice their ideals without forcing them to effect any real change.
Fruitlands members wore only linen clothes and canvas shoes; cotton fabric was forbidden because it exploited slave labor and wool was banned because it came from sheep. Bronson Alcott and Lane believed that animals should not be exploited for their meat or their labor, so they used no animals for farming. This arose out of two beliefs: that animals were less intelligent than humans and that, therefore, it was the duty of humans to protect them; and that using animals "tainted" their work and food, since animals were not enlightened and therefore unclean. Eventually, as the winter was coming, Alcott and Lane compromised and allowed an ox and a cow.
. Residents of the Fruitlands came to be called "consecrated cranks" and followed strict principles and virtues. They strongly believed in the ideas of simplicity, sincerity, and brotherly love.
The biggest challenge at Fruitlands was the farming aspect; the community had arrived at the farm a month behind the planting schedule and only about 11 acres (44,515.5 m²) of land were arable
. The decision not to use animal labor on the farm proved to be the undoing of the commune; combined with the fact that many of the men of the commune spent their days teaching or philosophizing instead of working in the field, which made farming difficult. Using only their own hands, the Fruitlands residents were incapable of growing a sufficient amount of food to get them through the winter.
Fruitlands was also hampered by its structure. Alcott and Lane wielded nearly limitless authority and dictated very strict and repressive models for living. "I am prone to indulge in an occasional hilarity", wrote Alcott's wife Abby May
, "but seem frowned down into still quiet and peace-less order... [and] am almost suffocated in this atmosphere of restriction and form".
The Fruitlands experiment ended only seven months after it began. According to Bronson Alcott, the inhabitants left Fruitlands in January 1844; his daughter, Louisa May, wrote that they left in December 1843, which is considered to be the more accurate date. Alcott was deeply dismayed by the failure of Fruitlands and, moving with his family to live with a nearby farmer, refused to eat for several days. Later, Ralph Waldo Emerson
helped purchase a home for the family in Concord.
Fruitlands had only a brief opportunity to impact America and the Transcendentalist movement.
After Fruitlands ended, the land was bought by one of its former participants, Joseph Palmer, who used the site as a refuge for former reformers for twenty years. The property was later purchased in 1910 by Clara Endicott Sears
, who opened the farmhouse to the public in 1914 as a museum. Today, the Fruitlands Museum
also includes a museum on Shaker life, an art gallery of nineteenth century paintings, and a museum of Native American art and crafts.
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n agrarian commune
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
established in Harvard, Massachusetts
Harvard, Massachusetts
Harvard is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. A farming community settled in 1658 and incorporated in 1732, it has been home to several non-traditional communities, such as Harvard Shaker Village and the utopian Transcendentalist center Fruitlands...
by Amos Bronson Alcott
Amos Bronson Alcott
Amos Bronson Alcott was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and avoided traditional punishment. He hoped to perfect the human spirit and, to that end, advocated a...
and Charles Lane
Charles Lane (transcendentalist)
Charles Lane was an English-American transcendentalist, abolitionist, and early voluntaryist. Along with Amos Bronson Alcott, he was one of the main founders of Fruitlands.-Fruitlands:...
in the 1840s, based on Transcendentalist principles. An account of its less-than-successful activities can be found in Alcott's daughter Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...
's Transcendental Wild Oats.
Lane purchased what was known as the Wyman farm and its 90 acres (364,217.4 m²), which also included a dilapidated house and barn. Residents of Fruitlands ate no animal substances, drank only water, bathed in unheated water, and did not use artificial light. Additionally, property was held communally, and no animal labor was used.
The community was short-lived and lasted only seven months. It was dependent on farming, which turned out to be too difficult. The original farmhouse, along with other historic buildings from the area, is now a part of Fruitlands Museum
Fruitlands Museum
Fruitlands Museum is a cluster of small historic buildings in Harvard, Massachusetts on the former site of the unsuccessful utopian community Fruitlands...
.
History
Amos Bronson Alcott, a teacher and member of the New England Non-Resistance SocietyNew England Non-Resistance Society
The New England Non-Resistance Society was founded at a special peace convention organized by William Lloyd Garrison, in Boston in September 1838. Leading up to the convention, conservative members of the American Anti-Slavery Society and the American Peace Society expressed discomfort with...
, came up with the idea of Fruitlands in 1841. He traveled to England the following year, where he hoped to find support and people to participate with him in the experiment. England was home to his strongest group of supporters, a group of educators who had founded the Alcott House
Alcott House
Alcott House, in Ham, Surrey , was the home of a utopian spiritual community and progressive school which lasted from 1838 to 1848.-History and Ideology:...
, a school based on his philosophy of teaching
Philosophy of education
Philosophy of education can refer to either the academic field of applied philosophy or to one of any educational philosophies that promote a specific type or vision of education, and/or which examine the definition, goals and meaning of education....
. One of his supporters was Charles Lane, who journeyed with him to the United States on 21 October 1842.
In May 1843, Lane purchased the 90 acres (364,217.4 m²) Wyman Farm in Harvard, Massachusetts
Harvard, Massachusetts
Harvard is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. A farming community settled in 1658 and incorporated in 1732, it has been home to several non-traditional communities, such as Harvard Shaker Village and the utopian Transcendentalist center Fruitlands...
for $1800. Though Alcott had come up with the idea of Fruitlands himself, he was not involved in purchasing the land, largely because he was penniless after the failure of his Temple School
Temple School
Temple School was a boys secondary modern in Strood, Rochester, Kent, in England. It has just merged with the Chapter School to form Strood Academy.-History:...
and his subsequent years in Concord, Massachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
as a farmer. In July, Alcott announced their plans in The Dial
The Dial
The Dial was an American magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the chief publication of the Transcendentalists. In the 1880s it was revived as a political magazine...
: "We have made an arrangement with the proprieter of an estate of about a hundred acres, which liberates this tract from human ownership". They had officially moved to the farm on June 1 and optimistically named it "Fruitlands" despite only ten old apple trees on the property.
In principle, the Fruitlands reformers did not believe in purchasing property
Land tenure
Land tenure is the name given, particularly in common law systems, to the legal regime in which land is owned by an individual, who is said to "hold" the land . The sovereign monarch, known as The Crown, held land in its own right. All private owners are either its tenants or sub-tenants...
; Lane said the following on the subject: "We do not recognize the purchase of land; but its redemption from the debasing state of proprium, or property, to divine uses, we clearly understand; where those whom the world esteems owners are found yielding their individual rights to the Supreme Owner." The commune attracted 14 residents, including the Alcott and Lane families. By July, the community had succeeded in planting 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) of grains, one of vegetables, and one of melons.
Fruitlands ultimately failed the winter after it opened, largely due to food shortages and accompanying unrest in the inhabitants. The rigors of a New England winter proved too severe for the members of the Fruitlands.
Philosophy
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s in the New England region of the United States as a protest against the general state of culture and society, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian...
. They were influenced by the Transcendental ideas of God not as the traditional view from the Bible but as a world spirit. Alcott's view of Transcendentalism was a sort of religious anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
, a renunciation of the world to focus on the spirit. The members of Fruitlands believed that spiritual regeneration was linked to physical health, that "outward abstinence is a sign of inward fullness". Though it was based on working together as a community, Fruitlands also hoped for individualistic improvement. Alcott also believed in the perfect intuition of children and, therefore, put a strong emphasis on education and hoped that their innocence would have a rejuvenating effect on elders.
Economy
Fruitlands residents, who called themselves "the consociate family", wished to separate themselves from the world economy by refraining from trade, having no personal property, and not using hired labor. Alcott and Lane believed that the community could achieve complete freedom only by eliminating economic activity altogether. Alcott in particular believed the present economy was evil. To this end, they strove towards self-sufficiency by planning on growing all the food they would need themselves and making only the goods they needed. By accomplishing these two goals, they would eliminate the need to participate in trade or to purchase their food from the outside world. Initially, Bronson Alcott and Lane modeled their ideas about personal property off the ShakersShakers
The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a religious sect originally thought to be a development of the Religious Society of Friends...
, who held property communally. However, the Shakers were not completely self-sufficient; they traded their hand-made goods for coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
, meat and milk. Bronson Alcott and Lane eliminated the need to trade for these supplies because they eliminated animal products and stimulants from their diets entirely.
In the end, the Fruitlands community had no effect on the economy of the outside world; Fruitlands allowed its residents to practice their ideals without forcing them to effect any real change.
Lifestyle and diet
Fruitlands residents began their days with a purging cold-water shower and subsisted on a simple diet containing no animal products or stimulants. They were vegans, excluding even milk and honey from their diets. “Neither coffee, tea, molasses, nor rice tempts us beyond the bounds of indigenous production,” Lane wrote. “No animal substances neither flesh, butter, cheese, eggs, nor milk pollute our tables, nor corrupt our bodies.” Diet was usually fruit and water; many vegetables—including carrots, beets, and potatoes—were forbidden because they showed a lower nature by growing downward.Fruitlands members wore only linen clothes and canvas shoes; cotton fabric was forbidden because it exploited slave labor and wool was banned because it came from sheep. Bronson Alcott and Lane believed that animals should not be exploited for their meat or their labor, so they used no animals for farming. This arose out of two beliefs: that animals were less intelligent than humans and that, therefore, it was the duty of humans to protect them; and that using animals "tainted" their work and food, since animals were not enlightened and therefore unclean. Eventually, as the winter was coming, Alcott and Lane compromised and allowed an ox and a cow.
Residents
There were no formal admission requirements or procedures to join the community at Fruitlands, and there was no official record-keeping of members. Many residents stayed only for a short period of time and most lists are based on the journals of Alcott's wife Abby MayAbby May
Abigail "Abby" Alcott was the wife of Transcendentalist Amos Bronson Alcott and mother of four daughters, including Civil War novelist Louisa May Alcott...
. Residents of the Fruitlands came to be called "consecrated cranks" and followed strict principles and virtues. They strongly believed in the ideas of simplicity, sincerity, and brotherly love.
- Amos Bronson AlcottAmos Bronson AlcottAmos Bronson Alcott was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and avoided traditional punishment. He hoped to perfect the human spirit and, to that end, advocated a...
- Born in 1799, Bronson Alcott was a prominent educator and Transcendentalist who believed in eliminating corporal punishmentCorporal punishmentCorporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
, and incorporating field trips, physical educationPhysical educationPhysical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
, art and music into the curriculum.
- Abigail Alcott - Abigail was Bronson Alcott's wife and also a reformer. She was one of only two women who lived at Fruitlands, and was primarily responsible for taking care of the house and farm, as well as raising her four children.
- Louisa May AlcottLouisa May AlcottLouisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...
- The Alcotts' second daughter, her short piece Transcendental Wild OatsTranscendental Wild OatsTranscendental Wild Oats: A Chapter from an Unwritten Romance is a prose satire written by Louisa May Alcott, about her family's involvement with the Transcendentalist community Fruitlands in the early 1840s...
was written about her experiences at Fruitlands.
- Charles LaneCharles Lane (transcendentalist)Charles Lane was an English-American transcendentalist, abolitionist, and early voluntaryist. Along with Amos Bronson Alcott, he was one of the main founders of Fruitlands.-Fruitlands:...
- Lane met Bronson Alcott in England in 1841, at which time Lane was living at the Alcott HouseAlcott HouseAlcott House, in Ham, Surrey , was the home of a utopian spiritual community and progressive school which lasted from 1838 to 1848.-History and Ideology:...
school in SurreySurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. His strict views on living a "pure" life were ultimately part of what destroyed the Fruitlands community. His son was also a resident of Fruitlands.
- Joseph PalmerJoseph Palmer (communard)Joseph Palmer was a member of the Fruitlands commune and an associate of Louisa May Alcott and other Transcendentalists.Palmer was a veteran of the War of 1812.Few men in the territory that became the United States wore beards after about 1720...
- Palmer joined Fruitlands in August 1843, and stayed through the demise of the commune, later purchasing the farm and founding another utopiaUtopiaUtopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n society there. He was famous for wearing a full beard, despite social stigma against it; he had even served time in prison for defending his right to wear a beard.
- Isaac HeckerIsaac HeckerIsaac Thomas Hecker was an American Roman Catholic Priest and founder of the Paulist Fathers, the North American religious society of men; he is named a Servant of God by the Catholic Church....
- Hecker began life as a baker in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, but then went through a progression of religious and spiritual explorations. He resided at Brook FarmBrook FarmBrook Farm, also called the Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and Education or the Brook Farm Association for Industry and Education, was a utopian experiment in communal living in the United States in the 1840s...
, another Transcendentalist community, for six months before joining the Fruitlands community. He was initially attracted by the "deeper" spiritual life at Fruitlands compared to Brook Farm, though he only stayed for two months. He later became a Roman Catholic priest.
- Samuel Larned - Like Hecker, Larned lived briefly at Brook Farm before coming to Fruitlands. He was known for using foul language because he believed that swears said with a pure heart uplifted listeners.
- Abraham Everett - Also known as Abraham Woods, he changed his name upon his arrival at Fruitlands, to Wood Abram. He had once been committed to an insane asylum before joining Fruitlands.
- Samuel Bower - Bower lived at Fruitlands for only a few months, after which he left to experiment with nudism, believing that clothes "stifled the spirit".
- Ann Page - Besides Bronson Alcott's wife, Page was the only adult female member of Fruitlands. Page and Mrs. Alcott were responsible for most of the household chores and often had to take care of the farm as well. Page was eventually kicked out of Fruitlands, supposedly for eating a piece of fish, which was forbidden in the community.
Dissolution and legacy
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
. The decision not to use animal labor on the farm proved to be the undoing of the commune; combined with the fact that many of the men of the commune spent their days teaching or philosophizing instead of working in the field, which made farming difficult. Using only their own hands, the Fruitlands residents were incapable of growing a sufficient amount of food to get them through the winter.
Fruitlands was also hampered by its structure. Alcott and Lane wielded nearly limitless authority and dictated very strict and repressive models for living. "I am prone to indulge in an occasional hilarity", wrote Alcott's wife Abby May
Abby May
Abigail "Abby" Alcott was the wife of Transcendentalist Amos Bronson Alcott and mother of four daughters, including Civil War novelist Louisa May Alcott...
, "but seem frowned down into still quiet and peace-less order... [and] am almost suffocated in this atmosphere of restriction and form".
The Fruitlands experiment ended only seven months after it began. According to Bronson Alcott, the inhabitants left Fruitlands in January 1844; his daughter, Louisa May, wrote that they left in December 1843, which is considered to be the more accurate date. Alcott was deeply dismayed by the failure of Fruitlands and, moving with his family to live with a nearby farmer, refused to eat for several days. Later, Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
helped purchase a home for the family in Concord.
Fruitlands had only a brief opportunity to impact America and the Transcendentalist movement.
After Fruitlands ended, the land was bought by one of its former participants, Joseph Palmer, who used the site as a refuge for former reformers for twenty years. The property was later purchased in 1910 by Clara Endicott Sears
Clara Endicott Sears
Clara Endicott Sears was a New England author, preservationist, and philanthropist.-Biography:Sears was born to a wealthy, Yankee family in Boston, Massachusetts in 1863. Her parents were Knyvet Winthrop and Mary Crowninshield Sears. Sears was educated at private schools in Boston and by tutors...
, who opened the farmhouse to the public in 1914 as a museum. Today, the Fruitlands Museum
Fruitlands Museum
Fruitlands Museum is a cluster of small historic buildings in Harvard, Massachusetts on the former site of the unsuccessful utopian community Fruitlands...
also includes a museum on Shaker life, an art gallery of nineteenth century paintings, and a museum of Native American art and crafts.
External links
- Fruitlands Museum
- "Transcendental Wild Oats" by Louisa May Alcott
- History of Fruitlands at American Transcendentalism Web
- Amos Bronson Alcott Network
- The Success of American Communes, by Clifford F. Thies
- Failure magazine interview with Richard Francis, author of Fruitlands: The Alcott Family and their Search for Utopia