"It was called the Brotherhood of the New Life, and it was led by Thomas Lake Harris, a Christian mystic and charismatic preacher who moved from New York to Sonoma County in part because of his interest in winemaking. Harris established his utopian community in 1875 on 400 acres in the area of Fountaingrove, north of the town of Santa Rosa."
"As the Press Democrat recounts, Harris claimed to be a longtim celibate, but he was also clearly preoccupied by sex. His followers stayed in gender-separated dormitories on the Fountaingrove property, and there would come to be allegations of husbands and wives forced to have sex with other people, and coerced intergenerational sex. Harris also claimed that God was bisexual which could certainly be read as a projection and indicator about Harris's own sexual desires"
Thomas Lake Harris founded the Brotherhood of the New Life, a utopian commune established in 1875 on 400 acres at Fountaingrove near Santa Rosa. The community originated in Brocton, New York, where Harris initially formed the group at Mountain Cove before relocating to Sonoma County. Harris presented himself as a celibate mystic while promoting doctrines about a bisexual God and celestial earthly counterparts who determined sexual partners. Members lived in gender-separated dormitories. Allegations emerged of forced sex, coerced intergenerational relations, and financial fraud tied to followers, including a scandal involving Laurence Oliphant and accusations of swindled jewels.
Read at sfist.com
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