Cassadaga, Florida

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Cassadaga
Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp
Nickname: 
"Psychic Capital of the World"
Volusia County Florida No Highlights.svg
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Cassadaga
Location in Volusia County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 28°57′59″N81°14′09″W / 28.96639°N 81.23583°W / 28.96639; -81.23583
Country Flag of the United States.svg  United States
State Flag of Florida.svg  Florida
County Volusia
Established1894
Founded byGeorge Colby
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
  Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)
32706
Area code 386
Website www.cassadaga.org
Historic Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Hist Dist1.jpg
Historic Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp

Cassadaga (a Seneca Indian word meaning "Water beneath the rocks") is a small unincorporated community located in Volusia County, Florida, United States, just north of Deltona. It is especially known for having many psychics and mediums, and has consequently been named the "Psychic Capital of the World". [1] [2]

Contents

History of Cassadaga

The Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp began circa 1875, when the Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association was founded by George P. Colby, from Pike, New York, [2] a trance medium who traveled to many different states, giving readings and seances. He was well known and in his travels was referred to as the "seer of spiritualism." Colby attended summer Spiritualist Camp meetings at Lily Dale, New York, the town adjacent to Cassadaga, New York that would lend its name to the Florida community. [3]

Colby worked with several spirit guides who would give him knowledge. One of his spirit guides was a Native American named Seneca, [2] who had manifested to Colby during a seance in Lake Mills, Iowa. According to Colby, Seneca had instructed him to travel south to Florida, where he eventually arrived at a place called the Blue Springs Landing, near Orange City, Florida. According to Colby, the area that Seneca had led him to was the same area that Colby had seen during the seance in Iowa.

Colby had arrived in Florida in 1875, and on December 18, 1894, the charter was granted to form The Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association. [2] Later, on January 3, 1895, Colby had signed a warranty deed to the association for thirty-five acres. [3] [2] The people who came to the Spiritualist Camp in the early days of its formation were affluent and well educated. The association later received additional acreage that expanded the camp to the current fifty-seven acres. [2]

The Cassadaga Camp today

Today, the Camp features the Cassadaga Hotel, a central auditorium, The Colby Memorial Temple, a community library, the Caesar Forman Healing Center, a Camp bookstore, a welcome center, and the Andrew Jackson Davis Educational building, used for musical performances and gatherings. [4] Nearby is Colby-Alderman Park.

The principles of spirituality that are taught by the people at Cassadaga state, "Spiritualism has no dogma or creed, just a simple set of nine principles to help guide our lives". [4] According to the teachings of spiritualism, it is the "science, philosophy, and religion based upon the principle of continuous life". [4] On March 14, 1991, the Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp was declared a U.S. Historic District. The Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp is a federal tax-exempt church currently governed by a board of trustees.

See also

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References

Notes

  1. Quoted from "Visiting The Psychic Capital Of The World", Bill Geist, CBS Sunday Morning, December 30, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Balogh, Christopher (January 29, 2013). "Inside Cassadaga, the Psychic Capital of the World". Vice. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Cassadaga, Florida Yesterday and Today by Elizabeth Owens, 2001
  4. 1 2 3 Cassadaga, Spiritualist Camp Guide Book, Calendar/ Directory Annual Program, 2007 -2008
  5. George Mills (NY: Dutton, 1982), 81-192.

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