Adonai-Shomo
Encyclopedia
Adonai-Shomo was the name given to a commune
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...

 which existed from 1861 to 1896 in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

.

Second Coming

The commune was founded by Frederick T. Howland, a Quaker who had become convinced that the Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...

 of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...

 and the subsequent Last Judgement would come shortly. On that basis, he started the commune, with initially roughly 30 members.

New Leaders

Some years later, Howland died in an accident, leaving a leadership vacuum in the community. A man named Cook arrived and said that God had sent him to take over the community. The members of the group accepted him initially. However, Cook later began to institute some unusual sexual practices into the group, which led the members to depose him from the leadership and initiate criminal charges against him. Cook was replaced by a man named Richards, who led the group for several years, during which time it prospered and was able to purchase 840 acres (3.4 km²) near Petersham, Massachusetts
Petersham, Massachusetts
Petersham is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,234 at the 2010 census. Petersham is home to a considerable amount of conservation land, including the Quabbin Reservation, Harvard Forest, the Swift River Reservation, and Federated Women's Club State...

.

Disbanding

In time, the older members of the commune began to die off, and several of the younger members left. Eventually, a group of the younger members filed suit against Richards to gain partial control of the group's property, eventually winning the suit. However, the money from the sale of the commune's land was barely sufficient to cover the group's debts and legal fees, leading the group to disband in 1896.
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