The Persecution of Kaweah, Story of a Great Injustice
New York: Eastern Group of the Kaweah Co-Operative Colony Co, 1891.
First Edition. 7.5" x 5.25", [v], [3]- 44 pp, with two small plat maps in the text, in original stapled wrappers. Light toning, small chips to wraps; near fine. The Kaweah Cooperative Colony was a utopian community established on the Kaweah River in Tulare County, California, in 1868. "It began as a tent settlement operated on the principle of equal work and equal compensation for men and women. The colony's board of directors developed a table of organization and carefully divided the work responsibilities. The settlement's growth, however, was hampered by internal disagreements over the directors' authority, the colony's priorities, and rules for membership" (Beinecke Library finding aid). The colony's economy was based on logging, and the group ran into legal trouble after the establishment of Sequoia National Park in 1890. In April, 1891, they were convicted of illegal logging in a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. This scarce pamphlet describes the colony's struggle to establish title to its land, reprinting documents and government reports relating to land claims and the legislation establishing the park. Currey & Kruska 211: "The pamphlet accuses an unnamed 'powerful influence' of secretly working to destroy Kaweah. The colonists believed the Southern Pacific Company, which had substantial timber interests in northern California, was behind the efforts to deny them title to their land." The colony disbanded in 1892. We locate no auction records for this pamphlet since 1983, and only four copies in OCLC.
Item #24193
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