Curated by Jesse Aaron Cohen

Operating out of Benton Harbor, Michigan, beginning in 1903, the House of David was a Christian Kingdom where followers of a bearded preacher named Benjamin Purnell gathered and lived together to await the millenium and the eventual emergence of a "Kingdom of God" in Jerusalem. The endeavor began a year earlier, in Fosteria, Ohio, where Burnell was ousted from after declaring himself the seventh of seven messengers sent by God to save the world in a lineage originally prophecied by the English 'prophetess' Joanna Southcott in 1620.

"King Benjamin's" kingdom had strict rules: abstinence was demanded of its residents, as was vegetarianism, the abolition of personal property, and the mandate that men not cut their hair or shave. He also put his followers to work, ammasing an enormous personal fortune by transforming the commune into one of the Midwest's most popular tourist destinations, famous for its miniature train, mineral springs, and a famous jazz band, the "Syncopep Serenaders". Burnell was also an avid sports fan: he founded a popular barnstorming baseball team that travelled the country beginning in the 1910's taking all challenges, drawing crowds, and spreading Burnell's word. In its later years, The House of David basketball team played exhibition games with the Harlem Globetrotters in the '30s and '50s.

By the the early 1920's, Burnell's eccentricity and fortune had attracted the scrutiny of the press and law enforcement officials. Following a series of exposés alleging that Burnell had violated his vow abstinence with several young female followers, charges were filed in 1923 by the state attorney general, accusing the colony of being built on "a foundation of deceit, immorality, and fraud". A number of raids on the colony in 1923 revealed that Burnell had gone into hiding, remaining a fugitive in a secret chamber beneath his compound for three years, before eventually being given up by one of his followers and arrested in 1926. In November of that year, following a sensational trial in which he was brought to court in a collapsible bed, Burnell was found guilty, his fortune seized, and he was expelled from his kingdom. He died only a few months later. His followers waited in vain for three days for Purnell's body to be resurected and to be lead by him to the promised land.

In his absense, a schism formed in the community and it soon split into two camps (located across the street from one another). One camp, the "City of David", was led by Benjamin's wife Mary, who now claimed that she too was the seventh messenger of God. The other, lead by Purnell's loyal disciple, Judge H.T. Dewhirst, used the name "the Israelite House of David". Both maintained touring baseball teams and both continued to use the name "House of David" for promotional purposes. Mary's "City of David" is now a museum run by a very small group of followers. "The Israelite House of David" is now defunct but maintains a "web presence" on the Internet.

House of David, Promotional Postcard. 1910's.

Miniature Train. c.1910's-1920's.

House of David Baseball team. c.1920's.

House of David Junior Baseball Team. 1927.

House of David Basketball Team. c. 1910's-1920's.

House of David Jazz Band, the "Syncopep Serenaders". mid-1920's.

Sheet music, "The House of David Blues", 1923. This was also the HOD Basketball team theme song.

Benjamin Burnell, just before his death in 1927.

Supplementary Material:

• "Bearded Angel Leads the Holy Rollers Here." New York Times 24 March 1905.[pdf]
• http://www.israelitehouseofdavid.org/
• http://www.maryscityofdavid.org
• Finding Aid, House of David Collection. Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan [pdf]
• http://the-light.com/longhair/

If you are unable to view the images, they can also be found at: http://brightbrown.fastmail.fm/houseofdavid/

About this series:
This is installation fifteen of a monthly series of Email Exhibitions. A new exhibition opens on the last Friday of every month. Each exhibition contains low-resolution images with a text and some supplementary readings. Please feel free to forward these exhibitions to whomever you want, but please don't reproduce the images in print or on your website without asking me first. Thanks.

If you were forwarded one of these exhibitions and would like to subscribe yourself, please email me so I can add you to my list and also tell you about when my band is playing and stuff if you want.

okay,
Jesse