The Burned Over District | A New York Minute In History




A New York Minute In History show

Summary: In this episode, Devin and Lauren discuss the "Burned Over District," and how upstate New York became a “cauldron” of emergent religions and alternative communities during the 19th century. How did the Burned Over District collide with state and national history? And what role did the Erie Canal play in establishing it? Devin and Lauren also discuss how these new religions contributed to the creation of alternative communities, such as the Ebenezers and the Oneida Community, and how this predication for communal living was revisited in New York during the 1960s. Marker: Blossom, Elma, Erie County, NY Guests: Jack Kelly, author of Heaven’s Ditch: God, Gold and Murder on the Erie Canal; and Fred Strife of the Historical Society of the Town of Elma A New York Minute In History is a production of the New York State Museum, WAMC, and Archivist Media, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. This episode was produced by Jesse King. Our theme is "Begrudge" by Darby. Further Reading: The Crucible of Ferment: New York’s “Psychic Highway, Emerson Klees (2001) Communal Utopias and the American Experience: Religious Communities, 1732-2000, Robert P. Sutton (2003) Upstate Cauldron: Eccentric Spiritual Movements in Early New York State, Joscelyn Godwin (2015) Oneida Utopia: A Community Searching for Happiness & Prosperity, Anthony Wonderley (2017) Teacher Resources: The Organization of American Historians: Digital Classroom Resources: The History of Religion in the United States The Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture: Teaching Resources Communal Studies Association: Resources Follow Along Devin: Welcome to A New York Minute in History. I'm Devin Lander, the New York state historian. Lauren: And I'm Lauren Roberts, the historian for Saratoga County. This episode, we are focusing on a sign located in western New York, titled “Blossom.” The sign’s located along Main Street in the town of Elma in Erie County. The text reads: “Religious society known as Ebenezers named this hamlet Upper Ebenezer in 1844. Name was changed to Blossom circa 1866. William G. Pomeroy Foundation, 2016.” So if you've never heard of the Ebenezers, you aren't alone. This religious group, whose descendants are still in existence today, is also known as the Community of True Inspiration. They valued pacifism, they believed in simple worship, and they believed that chosen individuals served as instruments through which inspired messages were relayed from a divine power to the congregation. The society was formed in Germany, and had a long history there beginning in the early 18th century. But there was also a long history of persecution: members of this religious sect, and we should note many other religious sects, faced incidents of physical violence and things like tax penalties due to religious intolerance. Christian Metz, who was the leader of the group, decided in the early 1840s that it was time for them to move to the United States, where they could practice their religion without persecution. Devin what was going on in western New York in the 1820s and ‘30s that would set that area up to be a desirable location where the Community of True Inspiration could establish a new society? Devin: That's a good question, and it really brings us to the topic that we're going to discuss today, which is the “Burned Over District.” We have to remember that during this era of 1840s, when Christian Metz first came to this country with some of his followers, they arrived in New York City at first, and then they journeyed by boat up the Hudson River and hooked up with the Erie Canal. And that's how they made it out to western New York near Buffalo. So my first answer to why was New York positioned as the Burned Over District (and we'll talk a little bit more about what that actually meant), is really the creation of the Erie Canal. [Construction]