2010 MUSEUM EVENTS

 Visit the Base Ball Season for our "House of David Echoes" schedule.

SUNDAY, JULY 24 "INTIMATE" BETHANY TOUR

A culmination of seven months of intensive restoration work at Mary's City of David, this FIRST TIME EXCLUSIVE tour will be a detailed look into what was arguably the most amazing year of the entire 106 years of Israelite House of David history, 1930.

Open to the general public and used as a combined fund raiser between Mary's City of David and the Berrien County Historical Association, the tour will visit the newly restored first floor rooming facility of "BETHANY" at Mary's City of David.

OPEN FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER TO THE PUBLIC, the tour will view the austere and rustic accommodations of 1930 that housed a portion of the colony members that followed Mary Purnell in her efforts to reorganize the Israelite House of David. Moving in during the week of Christmas, 1930, they joyfully celebrated their summer long achievement in building their new 4 story home, laying the foundation in May. The tour will reveal many facets of the early months of Mary Purnell's reorganization interlaced with the doctrinal beliefs that gave this residence and its immediate surrounds of two other major constructions, the name BETHANY.

In the Bethany residence was the ground floor kitchen and dining room, the print shop and three floors of rooming above. The restorations tour will include the print shop, first floor residence, greenhouse and museum. Among those living in Bethany at Christmas of 1930 were famous stars of the traveling base ball team, the green house crew, new arrivals from Texas, High Island lumber camp veterans. The tour will give an intimate incite into the austere and spirited determination of those that chose to leave behind successful businesses, comfortable homes in the first year of the Great Depression, to follow Mary Purnell in building a whole new community from the ground up.

From early on in the Christian-Israelite (House of David) theological interpretations, Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, is also identified as Magdalene. Her place in the Christian-Israelite theology is both fascinating and fundamental in the lineage of her offspring coming down to the latter-day and second coming of Christ.

RESERVATIONS with pre-payment should be made with the Berrien County Historical Association.

For reservations or further information:
BCHA @ (269) 471-1202

For directions or other information:
Mary's City of David @ (269) 925-1601

This tour will not be open to the general public guided tours that run through the summer weekends but may be arranged on a group reservation basis after July 24.

No Other Tours Will Be Offered On July 24

AUGUST 1 ... HOUSE of DAVID FABLES & MYTHOLOGIES PROGRAMME

Clare Adkin entitled his history of the House of David, "Brother Benjamin" and wrote his compelling account in view of putting to rest the years of irresponsible journalism that did more to obscure the House of David than to report a factual and balance account. The title, "King Ben" was one of his targets, as there was never such a person at the House of David.

A great turn-out last year with names on a list to call for a seat in 2010 all prompted another date for exploring and exploding some of the rumors, myths and fables that have circulated around for so long that most folks think that they are true. "King Ben" for a good example.

The lecture will also incorporate a detailed account of the lineage of the Christian-Israelite theology, dating back to the 1650s in England, another area of great misrepresentation by the greater portion of published accounts concerning the House of David.

The program will start at 1:30 PM. Reservations are to meet at the museum at 1PM. Last year the program lasted until after 4PM with all of the materials exhibited and the many questions fielded and answered. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED with a pre-payment. $5.00 per person. Reservations: 269.925.1601. Seating is limited to 50.

No Guided Walking Tour For The General Public On August 1st

AUGUST 16 - 21 ... BERRIEN COUNTY YOUTH FAIR

We will have our booth at the Berrien County Youth Fair from August 16 through 21 and House of David Echoes will be playing the Blossomtime Royals on the 19th at 6:30 PM. SE parking lot off Shawnee Road

AUGUST 28 ... RESORT FURNISHINGS and COLLECTIBLES SALE 9 AM – 5 PM

Cash n carry ... no refunds ... no returns

THREE BUILDINGS FULL of everything including the kitchen sink: Another new year of new finds around the colony grounds that are dispensable and also collectible, being a colony-made or one-of-a-kind. Resort linens, auto interests, post cards, literature, furnishings, medical tools, old used tools, pictures, old magazines, art work, table-top marble, dishware, newsprints, jewelry, old soda tin advertising signs, books, old doors, widows, sinks cabinets, wardrobes and so much more ...

SEPTEMBER 26 ... "WELCOME BACK TO 1934" VEGETARIAN LUNCHEON (12-NOON)

On our Summer Season's Closing Day we will host the only historic meal presentation for 2010.

Reservations And Pre-Payment Required To Secure Seats

The meal will feature a common menu from our collectible 1934 vegetarian cookbook with fruits and vegetables in season and the famous colony product for over 60 years, the "mock steak deluxe" sandwich. The meal is $14.50 which will include a free pass to the museum that opens at 1 PM. The guided walking tour from the museum at 1:30 PM is an additional 4.00. It is suggested to also reserve space on the walking tour, which is also open to the general public on a first-come-first-serve basis.

You may call for further information at (269) 925-1601; M-F; 1-5 PM.

(269) 925-1601 M-F; 1-5 PM.

Mary's City of David Tours

Using an aerial from 1937, the picture captures the first seven years labor in the earliest and most desperate hours of the Great Depression, in which most of the "City of David" was built under Sister Mary Purnell's direction. This serves today as both the nucleus of the 300-plus acre Christian-Israelite community and the entire tour area of significant historic sites that help tell this fascinating story of faithful perseverance and spirited resilience yielding the most amazing chapter of all the 100+ years in America.

1. Museum and Gift shop. Arrival and departure points.
    
2. Bethany where is given the slide presentation on the English roots to the present day, covering 3 ½ centuries. Print shop is also at this location.
    
3. Going through the Garage Bldg. (1930) with its active mechanic shop and 1930s tools. Shop rules that have worked for 100 years: "if you make a mess, clean it up"; "if you don't know how to operate, leave it alone"; " if you open it, close it."
    
4. Walking over to the Carpenter shop, with its vintage tools and today's sawdust.
    
5. Cannery and Powerhouse with the 1934 Fair Banks Morris Electrical generating plant. A lesson in self-sufficiency of a family in common faith. Common sense ...
    
6. Greenhouse Agriculture bldg. A lesson in recycling from the "have-tos" of 1935.
    
7. Mary's House, a walk through the yard of this structure that served as a makeshift headquarters in 1930, as well as a hotel and basement restaurant.
    
8. Shiloh gardens tell their intimate story of the new 1930 Administration and plantations of over 50 years in garden.
    
9. "Gate of Prayer" Synagogue, 1938 (not in this 1937 photo) where the "Welcome Back To 1934" vegetarian luncheons are held in this quaintly restored building.
    
10. Eastman Springs nature trails that are on 54 acres of woodland serenity. 1-½ miles of trails and bridges that wind through spring fed ravines that attracted Native American populations for over 4,000 years. The Silver Queen Spring (1883) is on the walk for a cooler on a warm summer day.
     
11. Colonel Harry and Elizabeth Eastman Field (1890s) today is the home field for the "vintage" House of David Echoes Baseball Club, playing pre-Civil War rules and members of the 120-plus Baseball Association in America.

General Public Museum Hours:
Saturdays & Sundays: 1-5 PM, June 5^th - September 26^th

If you have not visited the colony in several years, or have not yet visited, we strongly recommend that you take some quality time with friends and family this summer and come out for an afternoon to view an historic "vintage" base ball game, hike the 1 ½ miles trails through the serene and lovely Eastman Springs, visit the museum and see 355 years of history, get on board for the 1:30 PM tour each Saturday and Sunday to discover the amazing history of southwest Michigan's most renown historic site and "living history", and come to see the unique, one-of-a-kind gift shop next door to the museum; you won't find this inventory anywhere else in Michigan, America or the world.

Please refer back to this page for up-dates and further information, or call (269) 925-1601, Mon. thru Fri. 1-5 PM.