Adonai-Shomo, from the Hebrew “the Lord is there,” was a Christian commune in western Massachusetts in the latter half of the 19th century. It emerged from an 1855 meeting between Frederick T. Howland, a Quaker, and Caroline Hawks and Sarah Hervey at a religious meeting. This encounter sparked the community’s spiritual foundation, rooted in Adventist-influenced beliefs.
Howland believed that the Second Coming of Christ was imminent, and a small group saw him as a prophet. In 1861, approximately 30 followers established communal living in the town of Athol. The commune was vegetarian and practiced gender equality and Saturday worship. All possessions were commonly owned.
Howland believed in physical immortality, and his death in an accident a few years after the founding of the commune led to a crisis. A man named Cook, whose first name has not been recorded, arrived and announced that he had been sent by God to take control of the group. His leadership was accepted, but when he attempted to introduce free love practices, the rest of the commune ousted him.
A third and final leader moved the group to a farm in Petersham and led its formal incorporation as “Adonai-Shomo” in 1876. The commune persisted until the mid-1890s, by which time most of the original members had died and younger members had drifted away. Adonai-Shomo was disbanded in 1896.
Key Sources:
Webber, E. (2011). Escape to utopia: The Communal Movement in America. Literary Licensing, LLC.
Widdicombe, T., Morris, J. M., & Kross, A. (2017). Historical Dictionary of Utopianism. Rowman & Littlefield.
Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religious Movements 