Cassadaga

The South's Oldest Spiritualist Community

John J. Guthrie, Phillip Charles Lucas, Gary Monroe

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English

University Press of Florida
31 December 2025

History of religion; Mysticism

Series: Florida History and Culture

The story of a small Florida community that has drawn spiritual seekers for over 125 years

Calling itself a ""metaphysical mecca,"" the small town of Cassadaga, between Orlando and Daytona Beach in central Florida, was established more than 125 years ago on the principle of continuous life, the idea that spirits of the dead commune with the living. Though the founders of Cassadaga have passed on to the ""spirit plane,"" the quaint Victorian town remains the oldest continuously active Spiritualist center in the South and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. While the community has often been sensationalized and misrepresented, this is the first serious work to examine its history, people, cultural environment, and religious system.

After presenting an overview of nineteenth-century religion, the book explores the town's early years, distinctive architecture, ritual life, core beliefs, healing work, and view of the future. It also probes the extent to which Cassadaga has assimilated New Age beliefs and reflects larger trends in contemporary American religious culture.

The study includes a group biography based on interviews with four residents, plus a chapter on the colorful life of Eloise Page, a practicing medium in Cassadaga for more than 40 years. In addition, it features 47 photographs that guide readers through the town and portray residents engaged in various sacred and everyday activities.

Edited by: John J. Guthrie, Phillip Charles Lucas, Gary Monroe
Imprint: University Press of Florida
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions: Height: 254mm, Width: 178mm,
ISBN: 9780813081465
ISBN 10: 0813081467
Series: Florida History and Culture
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 31 December 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

John J. Guthrie, Jr. (1955-2000) was associate professor of history at Daytona Beach Community College, the author of Keepers of the Spirits: The Judicial Response to Prohibition Enforcement in Florida, 1885-1935, and coauthor of The Florida Land Boom: Speculation, Money, and the Banks. Phillip Charles Lucas, associate professor of religious studies at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, and general editor of Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, is the author of Prime Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting and The Odyssey of a New Religion: The Holy Order of MANS from New Age to Orthodoxy. Gary Monroe, professor of art at Daytona Beach Community College's Southeast Museum School of Photography, has published his photographs in several books including Miami Beach, Haiti, and (with Jerome Stern) Florida Dreams.