California's Utopian Colonies

UC Riverside Professor Robert Hine originally wrote this book in 1953, and (in the new Preface written in 1982) he states that "During the book's writing in the early 1950s, I and my generation were still World War II optimists. We took for granted the possibility of a society of substantial economic equality, racial integration, and international tranquility within 'one world.' But the activists that followed in the period we loosely call 'the sixties' carried utopianism to unprecedented heights." Although the book itself was not updated, this remains a wonderful survey of some of the "earlier" communitarian experiments in this country until 1950. There are chapters on Fountain Grove; the Theosophical communities at Point Loma and Temple Home; Icaria; Kaweah; Altruria; Llano del Rio, and others. We native Californians can perhaps note with pride that "From 1850 to 1950 California witnessed the formation of a larger number of utopian colonies than any other state in the Union. In this period at least seventeen groups embarked on an idealistic community experiment in California." Hine provides interesting insights on many communities: for example, the Altrurians in the San Francisco Bay took their name from William Dean Howells' novel A Traveler from Altruria; the kindergarten at Llano was "one of the first and largest Montessori schools in California"; Father Riker, the founder of "Holy City" was an explicit racist, etc. Hine notes in conclusion that "The average life of religious colonies in California has been over twenty years, while that of the secular colonies has been well under ten." This book remains, I think, of continuing interest to those of us interested in utopian communities, intentional communities, communes, and similar ventures.