| The House of David is a story of great success and great wealth, of entertainers that travelled the world over during the vaudeville times and were considered one of the top acts in the nation; orchestras that played before every U.S. President from Woodrow Wilson to Gerald Ford; baseball teams that not only had long hair and beards and won most of their barnstorming games, even against the pros, but also a team of white guys who travelled across America with the Negro Leagues, breaking the color barrier wherever they stopped, forcing the host teams to play these touring guests of the House of David, many times unwillingly, only to learn that they were some of the greatest players in the country. | | 
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 | The House of David was a group of faithful Christians, living a life of celibacy, who not only believed in and lived a communal life, but also did so at such an extreme that they generated their own electrictiy, grew their own food for their vegetarian lifestye, built their own exquisite mansions which still exist to this day, built their own elaborate furniture, operated and entertained the country with their own pre-Disneyland Amusement Park. |
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| The park is where they built the largest miniature railroad in the world, consisting of over a mile of track, 11 miniature steam engine trains built by House of David crafstmen; owned and operated their own cruise ships, trolley cars, bus lines, jam and jelly factory, built and operated the World's largest Cold Storage Building, the areas largest lumber yard, America's largest Tourist Court, owned and operated their very own coal mine, diamond mines, gold mines, and thus, were some of the wealthiest entreprenuers that this country had seen during their heyday. | | 
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 | The House of David, founded in 1903 by Benjamin and Mary Purnell, is located in Benton Harbor, Michigan U.S.A. Beginning with a handful of brilliant minds and hard working people, the religious colony grew to over 1000 members in its most ambitious era during the 1930's. Having worked the Chicago World's Fair for two full years (1933-1934) the colony was able to tap into an endless tourist trade with this western side of Lake Michigan and after the World's Fair the traffic coming off the once famous cruise ships (which used to line the ship canals of the Great Lakes) was almost more than even a large city could accommodate. |
From their own hotels, hospital, green houses, bus line, trolley car line, restaurants, and the biggest tourist court in America at the time, the House of David did all they could to capture the imagination of the American tourists and sightseers and give them something to talk about for years to come. Their strong religious beliefs in long hair and unshaven faces made them talked about the world over. But because of their belief in celibacy, there now exists only 7 living members all in their 80's and 90's. | | |
Click The Pictures to Enlarge ummary | | This is a story of love, romance, sports, inventions, fascinating journeys, and controversy. Its a place in time when things were a bit simpler, but yet the accomplishments of the House of David stand to this day as possibly some of the greatest achievements this country has ever seen by one small group of people, devoting their lives to God, making their own way through life, and making great memories for all of us along the way! We have compiled this website so you can get just a small glimpse of their amazing journey, and maybe learn a little bit of history about the wonderful place they call "House of David"! | |
