Southern Camping Trip 2024 / Day 35

Koreshan State Park

Estero, Florida

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Koreshan Power Plant (Fairbanks Morse Diesel Engine connected to 50 kilowatt alternator, water pump, etc...)

Marc- We visited with friends Donna and Frank Maher who have moved to Bonita Springs, next door to Estero. Sue also continued her tour of the Quilt shops going to Naples and finding the most impressive shop. We did some shopping in the ever present Publix supermarket nearby (there are multiple Publix supermarkets in many towns in many parts of Florida). I continued exploring the State Park hiking trails and the historic village here. It is amazing how the Koreshan cult developed this wilderness area in the late 19th century to form their utopian community. They also helped the general area by supplying electricity and other services to the surrounding area 30 years before the State utilities existed.

There is extensive bamboo growing on the shores of the Estero River.

Young bamboo (a panda bear's paradise).

Cactus vines growing on a palm tree.

Woodworking shop at Koreshan.

Fairbanks Morse type Z gasoline engine used to power the woodworking shop.

Religious residence. Women lived on the first two floors and one man lived on the top floor.

A more typical cult member residence.

Bedroom in the religious residence. Note the mosquito netting over the bed.

Quilts were popular in the 19th century.

Water tank conserving rainwater.

Koreshan cult beliefs.

The Koreshan cult died off in the early 1960's.

Sue- This is a high end shop. There is a huge amount of brightly color fabric - so many prints! Lots of beautiful hanging quilts. There are packages of a few fabrics each that I do not understand - they are not kits, there are no instructions, no mention of how much fabric they contain - and I didn't ask what they are. No one working there spoke to us until I went to the counter with a purchase. This is so unlike every other quilt shop we've visited. They have more of the Alice in Wonderland "Curiouser and Curiouser" line and I bought what was left on one of the bolts, which was about 1-1/3 yards. I have quite a few of the fabrics in this line, but this is the first one of all cats. They also have what we are calling "Big Alice," a big image of Alice, which we've seen previously, and don't care for. This store's grade is a B. Although it is the highest end store we've seen yet, it is lower on cozy vibes.