Home, Washington
Encyclopedia
Home is an CDP
in Pierce County, Washington
, United States
. The 2010 Census placed the population at 1,377. The community lies on the Key Peninsula
and borders the waters of Carr Inlet
, an extension of the Puget Sound
. Home is now primarily a town of beach homes, although around the turn of the twentieth century, it was considered a model, utopian community of anarchists.
, three former Glennisites — George H. Allen, Oliver A. Verity, and B. F. O'Dell — set out in the summer of 1895 into Puget Sound on a rowboat they built themselves to find an isolated location for a new community.
They decided upon Von Geldern Cove (also known as Joe's Bay) as the site for their new Home Colony, which would be an intentional community
based on anarchist philosophy
. The founders purchased 26 acres (105,218.4 m²) there at $7 an acre, working odd jobs to pay for it. By 1896, their families had joined them and cabins were constructed.
By 1898 a land buying corporation was set up called the Mutual Home Association, whose Articles of Incorporation and Agreement stated their purpose as "to assist its members in obtaining and building homes for themselves and to aid in establishing better social and moral conditions." Land was apportioned to those who became members of the Association, agreeing to its anarchist ideals and to pay for their lot. The title to each member's land would stay with the Association; however this was changed in 1909. The Association also held title to a meeting hall, called Liberty Hall, and a trading post.
When Home was plotted in 1901 it had increased in size to 217 acre (0.87816862 km²) and had become home to anarchists, communists, food faddists, freethinkers, nudists, and others who did not fit in with mainstream society. Elbert Hubbard
, anarchist Emma Goldman
, and national communist leader William Z. Foster
visited and gave lectures.
Following the assassination of President McKinley
by an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz
in 1901, the community came under scrutiny from outsiders, especially newspapers in nearby Tacoma
. Inflammatory articles led to threats being made by a vigilante committee called the Loyal League formed by members of the Grand Army of the Republic
, who planned to invade the colony by steamboat and "put it to the torch." They were stopped when the steamboat owner refused to take them.
In 1902, after charges of violation of the Comstock Act resulting from an article advocating free-love published in the local anarchist newspaper Discontent: Mother of Progress, Home's post office was closed by postal inspectors and moved two miles (3 km) to the smaller town of Lakebay
. (The post office was moved back to Home in 1958, but postal officials kept the Lakebay name. Consequently, residents of present day Home still have Lakebay postal addresses unless they pay a fee for special listing.)
The radical feminist Lois Waisbrooker
was a resident of Home during a later phase of her controversial career (1901 to 1904), and was involved in the prosecution that led to the closing of the Home post office.
The Association became divided into disagreeing factions called "nudes" and "prudes." The two factions were coined in a series of editorials in the Home newspaper The Agitator in which editor Jay Fox
defended Homeites arrested in 1911 for nude swimming — and nude swimming in general — against those in Home who had reported them to county authorities. Because of these editorials, Fox was charged with the misdemeanor of encouraging or advocating disrespect for law or for any court or courts of justice and jailed for two months.
In 1919 the Association was dissolved and the anarchist community, as it was, ended.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
in Pierce County, Washington
Pierce County, Washington
right|thumb|[[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] - Seat of Pierce CountyPierce County is the second most populous county in the U.S. state of Washington. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The 2010 Census placed the population at 1,377. The community lies on the Key Peninsula
Key Peninsula
The Key Peninsula is a finger of land in Puget Sound, Washington, United States . It is approximately long and extends south from the Kitsap Peninsula. It is part of Pierce County, Washington. Some of its towns include:...
and borders the waters of Carr Inlet
Carr Inlet
Carr Inlet, in southern Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington, is an arm of water between Key Peninsula and Gig Harbor Peninsula. Its southern end is connected to the southern basin of Puget Sound. Northward, it separates McNeil Island and Fox Island as well as the peninsulas of Key and Gig...
, an extension of the Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
. Home is now primarily a town of beach homes, although around the turn of the twentieth century, it was considered a model, utopian community of anarchists.
History
After the failure of the industrial cooperative colony Glennis located east of EatonvilleEatonville, Washington
Eatonville is a town in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,758 at the 2010 census.-History:For centuries, Indian people roamed the rivers and streams of the Eatonville area. Indian Henry was one of those who, in 1889, guided the town's founder, Thomas C. Van Eaton, from...
, three former Glennisites — George H. Allen, Oliver A. Verity, and B. F. O'Dell — set out in the summer of 1895 into Puget Sound on a rowboat they built themselves to find an isolated location for a new community.
They decided upon Von Geldern Cove (also known as Joe's Bay) as the site for their new Home Colony, which would be an intentional community
Intentional community
An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They...
based on anarchist philosophy
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...
. The founders purchased 26 acres (105,218.4 m²) there at $7 an acre, working odd jobs to pay for it. By 1896, their families had joined them and cabins were constructed.
By 1898 a land buying corporation was set up called the Mutual Home Association, whose Articles of Incorporation and Agreement stated their purpose as "to assist its members in obtaining and building homes for themselves and to aid in establishing better social and moral conditions." Land was apportioned to those who became members of the Association, agreeing to its anarchist ideals and to pay for their lot. The title to each member's land would stay with the Association; however this was changed in 1909. The Association also held title to a meeting hall, called Liberty Hall, and a trading post.
When Home was plotted in 1901 it had increased in size to 217 acre (0.87816862 km²) and had become home to anarchists, communists, food faddists, freethinkers, nudists, and others who did not fit in with mainstream society. Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Green Hubbard was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. Raised in Hudson, Illinois, he met early success as a traveling salesman with the Larkin soap company. Today Hubbard is mostly known as the founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, an...
, anarchist Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century....
, and national communist leader William Z. Foster
William Z. Foster
William Foster was a radical American labor organizer and Marxist politician, whose career included a lengthy stint as General Secretary of the Communist Party USA...
visited and gave lectures.
Following the assassination of President McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
by an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz
Leon Czolgosz
Leon Czolgosz was the assassin of U.S. President William McKinley.In the last few years of his life, he claimed to have been heavily influenced by anarchists such as Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman.- Early life :...
in 1901, the community came under scrutiny from outsiders, especially newspapers in nearby Tacoma
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
. Inflammatory articles led to threats being made by a vigilante committee called the Loyal League formed by members of the Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
, who planned to invade the colony by steamboat and "put it to the torch." They were stopped when the steamboat owner refused to take them.
In 1902, after charges of violation of the Comstock Act resulting from an article advocating free-love published in the local anarchist newspaper Discontent: Mother of Progress, Home's post office was closed by postal inspectors and moved two miles (3 km) to the smaller town of Lakebay
Lakebay, Washington
Lakebay is an unincorporated community in Pierce County, Washington, United States. Lakebay is located at the head of Mayo Cove on the east side of the Key Peninsula, south of Home. Lakebay has a post office with ZIP code 98349....
. (The post office was moved back to Home in 1958, but postal officials kept the Lakebay name. Consequently, residents of present day Home still have Lakebay postal addresses unless they pay a fee for special listing.)
The radical feminist Lois Waisbrooker
Lois Waisbrooker
Lois Waisbrooker was an American feminist author, editor, publisher, and campaigner of the later nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. She wrote extensively on issues of sex, marriage, birth control, and women's rights, plus related areas of radical thought like free speech, anarchism, and...
was a resident of Home during a later phase of her controversial career (1901 to 1904), and was involved in the prosecution that led to the closing of the Home post office.
The Association became divided into disagreeing factions called "nudes" and "prudes." The two factions were coined in a series of editorials in the Home newspaper The Agitator in which editor Jay Fox
Jay Fox
Jay Fox was a trade unionist, communist, and anarchist who lived in the town of Home, Washington which he inhabited for more than half a century. Fox was involved in the anarchist movement in Home, Washington, and Chicago, Illinois...
defended Homeites arrested in 1911 for nude swimming — and nude swimming in general — against those in Home who had reported them to county authorities. Because of these editorials, Fox was charged with the misdemeanor of encouraging or advocating disrespect for law or for any court or courts of justice and jailed for two months.
In 1919 the Association was dissolved and the anarchist community, as it was, ended.
External links
- Fortnightly Club of Redlands: Home Colony, Its Philosophy & BeginningsSeattle PI: No Place Like Home
- Labor Press Project: Discontent: Mother of Progress: Information on the anarchist newspaper published from Home between 1898 and 1902. Contains excerpt from the "Articles of Incorporation and Agreement of the Mutual Home Association".
- Labor Press Project: The Agitator: Information on the anarchist newspaper published from Home between 1910 and 1912. Contains excerpts from "The Nude and the Prudes" and other articles.
- Stamping Out Indecency The Postal Way: Home's legal troubles with the Comstock Act.
- The Anarchist Encyclopedia: Home Colony, Washington
- "A Nest of Vipers in This Country": An article about the vilification of Home Colony and its leaders by the Tacoma press.