Stelle, Illinois
Encyclopedia
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...
.
Geography
Stelle is located at 40°57′09"N 88°09′13"W (40.9525, -88.1535). The legal description of Stelle’s geography is: The 2nd Resubdivision of Stelle Subdivision No. 1, located in the NE quarter of Section 35, T29N, R9E of the 3rd PM, Rogers Township, Ford County, IllinoisRogers Township, Ford County, Illinois
Rogers Township is one of twelve townships in Ford County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 414. It was formed as Grant Township from a portion of Stockton Township in September, 1863; its name was changed to Rogers Township on May 9, 1864.-Geography:According to the...
. The Stelle Subdivision—AKA Stelle, IL—covers about 40 acres (161,874.4 m²).
History
Stelle was founded in 1973 by the Stelle Group, a Chicago organization created by Richard Kieninger, a writer and spiritual leader who was also instrumental in founding Adelphi, TexasAdelphi, Texas
The Adelphi Community is an intentional community, population 16, 25 miles east of Dallas, Texas, USA. It has streets, private homes, eight townhouses, a community well, community gardens and a sewage treatment plant. It is also known as the "Adelphi Community."-History:The community was built by...
. During the 1950s, Kieninger had been a student of the Lemurian Fellowship
Lemuria
Lemuria may refer to:*Lemuria , in Roman religion, a feast during which the unwholesome and malevolent spectres of the restless dead were propitiated...
in Ramona
Ramona, California
Ramona is a census-designated place in San Diego County, California. The population was 20,292 at the 2010 census.The term Ramona also refers to an unincorporated community that includes both the Ramona CDP and the adjacent CDP of San Diego Country Estates CDP...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where he was instructed in a set of beliefs called “Lemurian
Lemuria (continent)
Lemuria is the name of a hypothetical "lost land" variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The concept's 19th century origins lie in attempts to account for discontinuities in biogeography; however, the concept of Lemuria has been rendered obsolete by modern theories of plate tectonics...
Philosophy.” In his book The Ultimate Frontier (written in 1963 under the pen name “Eklal Kueshana”), Kieninger outlined the tenets of Lemurian philosophy, as well as further teachings he claimed were given to him by ancient, secretive organizations called the “Brotherhoods.” The Ultimate Frontier sold over a quarter of a million copies and attracted worldwide interest in the new community.
The teachings Kieninger attributed to the Brotherhoods included a prediction that cataclysmic earth changes
Earth changes
The phrase "Earth Changes" was coined by the American psychic Edgar Cayce torefer to the belief that the world will soon enter on a series of cataclysmic events causing major alterations in human life on the planet....
were to occur circa the year 2000, as well as recommendations for individual advancement through education, practice of Twelve Great Virtues and an emphasis on right action to improve one’s karma
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
. In order to provide a physical setting where individuals could more easily practice the Brotherhoods’ teachings, the Stelle Group bought land in northern Ford County, Illinois, where members built a sewage treatment plant, a water treatment plant, roads, streets, underground utilities, a factory, a school and the first twenty-five homes. Mr. Kieninger predicted that this new town would grow to a population of 250,000 people by the year 2000. However, Stelle’s distance from major job markets, stringent membership requirements, and lack of funding prevented the community from growing beyond its peak population of 200.
Mismanagement also took a toll; initially in 1975, then again during the mid-1980s, Kieninger became persona non grata
Persona non grata
Persona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country...
in Stelle because of, inter alia
Inter Alia
-Track listing:# Inter Alia# Outfox'd # Righteous Badass # The Altogether feat. Bix, Apt, UNIVERSE ARM and Cal# The Day-to-Daily# Trouble Brewing # The Prestidigitator# The Force...
, his tendency to abuse his position and engage in multiple affairs with young Stelle women. After leaving Stelle, Kieninger founded another community, Adelphi, Texas
Adelphi, Texas
The Adelphi Community is an intentional community, population 16, 25 miles east of Dallas, Texas, USA. It has streets, private homes, eight townhouses, a community well, community gardens and a sewage treatment plant. It is also known as the "Adelphi Community."-History:The community was built by...
, which is located approximately 25 miles (40.2 km) east of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. Many of Stelle’s residents followed him there, and Adelphi grew to a peak population of 30 before declining to its present size of 16. Residence in Adelphi is open only to members of the Adelphi Organization, which continues to teach the tenets of Lemurian philosophy and make available Kieninger’s writings. All date-specific predictions have been removed from the current edition of The Ultimate Frontier, though references remain as to the eventual occurrence of cataclysmic earth changes.
During the more than forty-five years since publication of The Ultimate Frontier, several thousand people from all parts of the globe have participated in funding and building the two communities. These participants form an informal network of Stelle/Adelphi “graduates” who occasionally return to Stelle for the annual Fourth of July celebration, or who attend reunions in other locales to reminisce and discuss philosophical issues and current events.
At Stelle's inception, the private homes and Stelle’s one factory were owned by Stelle Industries Inc., whose four divisions (Stelle Woodworking, Stelle Construction, Stelle Plastics, and the Stelle Piano Shop) employed many Stelle residents. Most of the homes were transferred to a form of co-operative ownership after 1976. By the mid-1980s, Stelle Industries, Inc. had discontinued its operations, and the factory was eventually purchased by a longtime Stelle resident.
The school, the community center, the water treatment plant, and the sewage treatment plant were originally owned and operated by the Stelle Group. Many early residents were employed in support positions to handle correspondence, design and operate the public utilities and manage the affairs of the rapidly growing community. Since the population of the community stabilized, democratic decision-making has been administered by the Stelle Community Association, a homeowners association
Homeowners association
A homeowner association is a corporation formed by a real estate developer for the purpose of marketing, managing, and selling of homes and lots in a residential subdivision...
, whose personnel also operate the water and sewer services.
Following a 1982 referendum, membership in the Stelle Group was dropped as a prerequisite for residence in the Stelle community. The Stelle Group continued its operations with reduced membership and staff, and its philosophical perspective changed over time. In early 2005, the few remaining Stelle Group members decided to disband and liquidate the organization’s assets— the school, the community center, an orchard, a community garden, a pond, a greenhouse, a storage building, and about 170 acres (700,000 m²) of farmland adjoining the village.
In late 2005, the Center for Sustainable Community (CSC), an educational organization that maintains its headquarters in Stelle, purchased the orchard, the community garden, the pond, the greenhouse, and the storage building. The remaining farmland was purchased by a local organic farmer.
Although Stelle has become more similar to the nearby villages of Cabery
Cabery, Illinois
Cabery is a village located in Ford and Kankakee counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 266 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Cabery is located at ....
and Kempton
Kempton, Illinois
Kempton is a village in Ford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 231 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Kempton is located at ....
, it is still notable for its suburban design, the solar panels
Photovoltaic module
A solar panel is a packaged, connected assembly of solar cells, also known as photovoltaic cells...
on many homes and many residents’ enthusiasm for lifelong education and co-operative enterprises. It has its own telephone company, which provides telephone, television, and internet access to the village. Stelle also boasts a community garden co-op, a tool co-op, a Monday night dinner co-op, and, until recently, a learning co-op for young children.
Stelle has historically attracted a broad mix of people, many from outside the Midwest; however, in recent years, few new adults younger than middle age have moved to Stelle. Because of this and the almost universal trend of young adults to leave Stelle permanently after high school, the population has aged; the current median age is 53. By comparison, the nearby village of Cabery, despite having less than 300 residents, has a median age of 35. http://www.city-data.com/city/Cabery-Illinois.html
Contemporary Stelle
Stelle is one of only a few Mid-American towns that have met the Transition TownsTransition Towns
Transition Towns is a grassroots network of communities that are working to build resilience in response to peak oil, climate destruction, and economic instability...
criteria.
Further reading
- Kueshana, Eklal The Ultimate Frontier ISBN 0-9632252-0-0
- http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/us/07cncstelle.html?ref=chicagonewscooperative
External links
- http://www.stellecommunity.com
- http://www.centerforsustainablecommunity.org/
- http://www.centerforsustainablecommunity.org/land-walking-tour.html
- http://www.adelphi.com
- http://www.lemurianfellowship.org