Bishop Hill Colony

A commune that moved to America to wait for the apocalypse, but almost everyone died along the way

1844 - 1862

A painting of the colony, painted by member Olof Krans in 1855

In the 1840s, Eric Jansson started criticizing the Lutheran Church and gained many Swedish followers but was imprisoned for his beliefs. However, he escaped prison by dressing as a woman and skiing across the mountains into Norway. Afterward, he brought his followers to America to set up a "New Jerusalem" and await the second coming. However, approximately 80% of his followers died during the journey, and about 25% of the survivors did not live past the first winter. Nevertheless, the community soon recovered and prospered for the next 15 years, with the help of guards posted to prevent members from leaving. Eventually, a member killed Jansson so his family could escape, and the community dissolved shortly after.

Religion: Christianity

Denomination: Pietism

Founder: Eric Jansson

Founded: Movement started in 1844 in Vastmanland, Sweden; commune started in 1846 in Illinois

Ended: 1862

Location: Bishop Hill, Illinois, United States

Size: Up to 1,500 members. Commune had about 1,000 members at its peak

Anti-Education

Members were discouraged from acquiring education beyond elementary school (source p. 75)

Anti-Marriage

Marriages were briefly forbidden (source p. 25-27)

Doomsday

Eric Jansson intended to create a "New Jerusalem" to await the second coming of Christ (source p. 69)

Leader-Prophet

Eric Jansson claimed he was a "God sent prophet," "restorer of free doctrine," and "the vicar of Christ on earth" (source p. 69)
After his death, Jansson was not buried immediately, as his followers expected him to come back to life after three days (source p. 79)

Persecuted

When a prison guard told Jansson that authorities bribed an inmate to kill him, Jansson broke out of prison by disguising himself as a woman and skiing across the mountains into Norway. His followers helped by tying up the prison guard and faking Jansson's death (source p. 70)
Eric Jansson was arrested several times for his religious beliefs (source p. 69)
Moved to America to escape persecution (source p. 67)

Renunciation of Private Property

Members sold all their possessions, put the money into a common fund, and shared all property in common (source p. 70)
Anyone who left the community was unable to regain their possessions or receive compensation for their work in the commune (source p. 70-71)

Unable to Leave

Anyone who left the community was unable to regain their possessions or receive compensation for their work in the commune (source p. 70-71)
Guards were posted in the American colony to prevent people from leaving (source p. 73)

Unique Sexual Practices

During a period where they had little food, members were required to be celibate (source p. 23-24)
Celibacy was mandatory from 1855-56 (source p. 25-26)

Other info:

Thought that they would suddenly start speaking English, by the power of the Holy Spirit, when they came to America (source 2:40)
Conducted large book burnings (source p. 22)
Required members to attend church for four hours a day; six hours on Sundays (source p. 73)
A member left and tried kidnapping his family so that they would leave with him, although they wanted to stay. After three kidnapping attempts, the man murdered Jansson (source p. 78-79)
Jansson's murderer only served one year in prison before being pardoned (source p. 79)

Other tags:

Arranged Marriages

Communal

Financial Lawsuit