Synthetic Blog Post- Bethel
In Shelby County beginning in the 1840s many German immigrants congregated together and formed the community of Bethel. The people of Bethel believed the Bible taught that property should be held communally.
It is most likely that most of these immigrants came to Missouri due to the work of Duden and his description of Missouri’s landscape and potential, and its similarity to Germany. Over the course of a decade, Bethel grew and became the most successful communal colony in the state of Missouri. By 1855 Bethel had grown to 650 members and their leader, Wilhelm Keil had decided it was best for the community to expand to the West. Wilhelm Keil described his followers as Christians and named Bethel which translates to “House of God.” While Christianity was taught, so was communism. Keil believed in communism and wanted to teach his followers about the ideals. “Without a written agreement, they shared their property and labor, though private earnings were allowed.” The community remained separate from the rest of Shelby County, but they faced little discrimination from the surrounding cities and towns. Keil was very interested in Oregon, he was afraid of outside influence on his growing followers of German-Americans. Keil’s trip across the Oregon Trail was very different from most others’ journeys. Keil’s son had gotten ill from malaria before moving to the West. The trip had become a funeral cortege. “On a wet, chilly November day, six months after they left Missouri, the Keil party reached their intended destination at Willapa near the Washington coast. Nineteen-year-old Willie, in his coffin full of whiskey, was finally laid to rest.” Once Keil’s son was buried in Washington and the new westward community had been established, Keil sent letters to Shelby County to continue leading the Bethel community.
Many more over the next decade would follow Keil to Oregon, which Keil had encouraged through the letters he sent to the original colony. By 1870, about a third of Keil’s community remained in Bethel. The Bethel community had a strong, hardworking lifestyle and of course, since they followed the ideals of communism all profits were shared evenly. When Keil passed away in 1877, both colonies began to fall apart because of the lack of leadership. In 1880, the remaining members divided the property and ended one of Missouri’s most successful communal experiments. In 1969, Bethel was nominated as a historic district, the buildings that are still standing from the 1800s are now considered historically significant. However, the history of Bethel is not well known in Missouri. Bethel was very secluded, so even towns and cities that were not very far from Bethel do not know about the small community and its background. Today Bethel’s population is 122 and it honors its heritage by preserving the Bethel Historic District. They host many German activities and events to transport their visitors back to the 1800s.
