History of an Ozark Utopia

History of an Ozark UtopiaAuthor(s): Doris ThompsonSource: The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 4 (Winter, 1955), pp. 359-373Published by: Arkansas Historical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40027534 .

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HISTORY OF AN OZARK UTOPIA

By Doris Thompson* Newport, Arkansas

Beside the white frame church in Gilbert, Arkansas, stands an empty brown building constructed of smooth native rock. Although now unused, the building is the dis- tinctive physical reminder of Gilbert's extraordinary origin. For, thirty years ago this stone building was the head- quarters of the Incoming Kingdom Missionary Unit and the publishing center of the Unit's four-page weekly news-

paper, the Kingdom Harbinger. Because the organization chose Gilbert as the site for a Utopian colony, the town en- joyed a brief period of unusual prosperity.

The Incoming Kingdom Missionary Unit was a mil- lennialist group holding beliefs similar to other adventist groups who had been enlivening the national scene since the early 1800's. The movement began when John A. Bat- tenfield, a minister in the Christian Church, became con- vinced that he had found the key to the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. In 1912 and 1913 he published The Great Demonstration, setting forth his first findings.1 His beliefs gained enough support to finance the first issue of the Kingdom Harbinger, which appeared on Sep- tember 13, 1919, in Olney, Illinois (1:4, Sept. 13, 1919).

Mr. Battenfield had adopted a traditional surmise that God appointed seven thousand years for the existence of the world to balance the seven days of creation, for "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (II Pet. 3:3). The Millennium, the seventh thousand years and the macrocosmic Sabbath, would be preceded by a period of world-wide destruction by war. Therefore, it was the duty of the faithful to "come out of her (Babylon, or the secular world) my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Rev. 18:4). The faithful were to establish communities in isolated mountain areas and there restore the true church, replace with brotherly charity the exisiting

*This paper was submitted in the 1955 Stebbins Contest. ^Kingdom Harbinger, 11:2 (Oct. 8, 1921). Unless otherwise indicated, notes

refer to this newspaper.



~g0 ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

money-grabbing socio-economic system, and organize to con- vert as many as possible before the holocaust. In these mountain communities, the faithful would be educated to assume control of the world after the war, thereby constitut- ing the "saving remnant/' the new spiritual Israel (11:2, June 10, 1922).

He considered the Bible a complete history of the world, chronicling by the miraculous guidance of the Holy Spirit all empires, past, present, and future. The Bible was so minutely conceived by God that each verse in the original Hebrew was arranged in a pattern of sevens, pro- viding an infallible technique for distinguishing the "true readings from interpolations" (1:2 Oct. 18, 1919).2 Even the "begats" had their use as a check on the chronology of past and future events. Incidentally, the millennial scholars "corrected" the date of creation, substituting 4028 B. C. for the traditional 4004 B. C. (1 :2, Jan. 24, 1920). 3

By correlating the symbolism of Daniel 7-8 with Reve- lation 13, Mr. Battenfield determined that the Millennium would begin in 1973. When he later discovered that Alex- ander Campbell had in 1843 set the time limit in 1966, his conviction was strengthened (1:2,4; Feb. 26, 1920). Like numerous other Protestants sectarians, Mr. Battenfield identified the ten-horned beast (Dan. 7 -.7) with the Papacy. Since Rev. 13:5 states that the beast is to rule forty-two months (1260 days), and since (according to Battenfield) world domination by the Papacy began in 666, the destruction of Roman Catholicism must occur in 1926 as a result

2The following quotation from "Bible Numeric Tracts, No. 1" by Isaac Panin, which was reprinted in Kingdom Harbinger, 1:4 (Feb. 7, 1920) will clarify the method! and also illustrate the minuteness with which the Scriptures were searched :

The number of words in this first verse of the Bible (in the original Hebrew) is - seven (Feature 1). These seven words have 28 letters, or 4 sevens (Feature 2). And these 28 letters are thus divided: the first three words have 14 letters, or two sevens, and the last four words have also 14 letters (Feature 3). And these last four word's are in their turn subdivided thus: the fourth and fifth words have seven letters, and the fifth and the sixth have also seven (Feature 4). The numeric value of the first and last letters of the first three words is 42, or six sevens. The numeric value of the first and last letters of the last four words is 91, or 13 sevens. (Features 5 and 6). The numeric value of the first and last letters of the seven words of the passage is 1393, or 199 sevens. (Feature 7).

. . . The chance for their being accidental is only one in 7x7x7x7x7x7x7 , only one in 823, 543. These sevens are therefore designed.

3The Millennial scholars reasoned, "Since it is 6000 years from Adam to 1972 [beginning of Millennium, which would! end the macrocosmic week] it is 4029 years from Adam to the beginning of our present count A.D."



HISTORY OF AN OZARK UTOPIA ^gj

of a world-wide war between Catholics and Protestants (1:3, Sept. 13, 1919).

A magnetic quality of leadeship and an organ-like voice assured Mr. Battenfield of a following. An outsider gave this account of him :

I have heard a number of his sermons. . . . [He] is one of the smartest men, one of the most affable fel- lows, of pleasing: personality, gifted with such oratorical ability as only one preacher in a thousand has. He has a deep basic [sic] voice is a splendid singer. . . . He is not a nut. He has one of the most wonderful in- tellects of any man I ever talked with. When a lad of 14 he had the book of Revelation committed to memory. He avers that was the starting point of his studies of the prophecy. He has nearly all the prophecies of the Bible, including hundreds of chapters and thousands of verses tabulated in his brain for ready reference on a moment's notice. He can quote dates, and figures, and prophecies, and doctrines equal to the claim of the memory experts of the magazine ads.4

A follower testified, "If Bro. B. would only preach what the people want preached he could be knowTn as one of the strongest men anywhere and could get his own salary'

'

(111:3, June 3, 1922). But Mr. Battenfield believed that his mission was divinely appointed; therefore he could not choose what he would preach. In his own words :

Do you know this is the biggest battle I ever had to fight in my life. I [am] willing to confess that as I have traveled over the states I have not found other men who are working ... to show men that great seven- fold systems of the Kingdom prophecy . . .

Now I know that unless I do the things that the Lord has set down in the message, He cannot accept me. ... as by the power of the Spirit pod created the stars of the heavens and set them in their constellations, so He has brought on the earth today a mighty host of fore-ordained characters, each one to take his place in his own community or in his own church . . .5

John Battenfield's brother Ben, who assumed the responsibility of publishing the Kingdom Harbinger, was also a Christian church minister. Although he lacked John's

4Quoted from the Evansville (111.) Courier, May 23, 1921, in 11:2, June 11, 1921.

5John A. Battenfield, "The Bread of Life." Sermon recorded by dictaphone. In V:3, Dec. 15, 1923.



nfc ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

great powers of oratory, Ben possessed more formal education. His writing abounded in quotations from such classics as Lycidas, The Destruction of Senecharib, Silas Marner, and King's Treasuries. He had been expelled from the disciples college in Lexington, Ky., for publishing his class notes to prove that the school was a hotbed of evolu- tionism (1:4, June 5, 1920), but he later fitted the evolu- tionary timetable into the timetable of the "science of prophecy." (V:2, Mar. 15, 1924).

Plans for isolated colonies offered the romantic ap- peal of the return to nature :

Early rising, and early to sleep, family worship daily, groups engaged frequently in song and prayer; . . . time for reflection, peace of nature in the mountains, and rugged outdoor life will work wonders in physical and spiritual transformation.

Faces that were blanched and pale become tanked and ruddy . . . Freedom from contaminating sins of Babylon make a different type of young men and women than the nervous, disatisfied [sic] creatures who slept only when there wer,e not social functions to attend . . . (I :i, Tune 26, 1Q20).

The colonies were to be economically self-sufficient. Even if the Catholic-Protestant war did not halt manu- facture, goods could be made at home more cheaply than they could be bought. By eliminating middlemen, the faithful could spend less time making a living and more time in the study of religion (11:2, Dec. 3, 1921). Com- munal ownership of property was planned. Captain John Smith's problem was dismissed with the comment that shirkers could be threatened with eviction from the community, which would "mean terrible suffering and often death during the Catholic-Protestant war" (I:i, Jan. 3, 1920). Government would be in the hands of the elders of the church. Since only believers would be admitted to the community, the same people would govern both church and state. Eventually whole counties would be filled with colonies so that the faithful could control elections (I:i, Jan. 10, 1920).

Unlike many sectarians, to whom formal education is a detriment, the Incoming Kingdom group considered scholarliness a close second to godliness. The school and the



HISTORY OF AN OZARK UTOPIA ~g^

church were to be the same building, used by children in the daytime and by adults at night; "the whole congrega- tion will be a school which is in session as much of the time as possible" (I:i, Jan. 17, 1920). Textbooks would be written by members of the group, so that all subjects could be taught with a Christian approach. Instead of "secular fables,'' the primary readers would contain Bible stories ; history would be taught on a "Biblical" basis, and composition by studying the Scriptures for style.6 One unique feature of the proposed educational system was the emphasis on the Hebrew language. All members of the community should learn Hebrew, not only to read the prophecies in the original language, but also because the confusion of tongues in Babylon would be resolved in a return to the use of Hebrew, "the only language whose roots are pure" (1:2, Nov. 22, 1919). This idea was based on Zeph. 3:9.

During the Harbinger s first year of publication, the movement continued to attract followers, especially those who were dissatisfied with their local churches ( 1 :2, Feb. 14, 1920). The usual source of discontent was "liberal- ism," especially among country people who felt ill at ease in city churches. One follower wrote from Denver, "They have plays . . . and a large supper in their church every Wed- nesday evening ... I can't feel that it is right" (11:2, March 19, 1921). For people isolated from regular church services, the Harbinger was often the one link with Chris- tendom.7 Knowledge of the movement spread in curious ways. A minister found a scrap of the Harbinger on a train and wrote to inquire about the movement (In, June 12, 1920). Many of the believers moved from job to job, thus spreading Incoming Kingdom teachings more widely (See 1:3, Aug. 7, 1920). In the letters column, communications from more than 200 different subscribers from thirty states were published over a period of four years.

6The interpretation of Daniel 2:37-45 exemplifies the interpretation of history on a Biblical basis. The head of the image represented Nebuchadnezzar's rule; the breasts and arms represented Medo- Persia; the belly and thighs represented Greece; the legs of iron represented1 the strength of Rome; and the feet of iron and clay represented modern times - ten subdivisions of Rome. "The 5 western subdivisions of Rome, represented by the 5 toes of the western foot, are England, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. . . . The 5 eastern ssubdivisions . . . are Russia, Macedonia (Balkan states), Syria, Egypt and Persia . . . The iron types the political strength in each of these 10 ... The clay types the religious element which in all of these 10 subdivisions has been mixed with the political element. (1:1, 4; Feb. 21, 1920).



~g, ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

The Gilbert community was launched in September, 1920, after a preparation which involved a year of scout- ing and seven preliminary trips to the site (11:3, Mar. 19, T021). Mr. C. E. Jordan, an oil-rich farmer of Allendale, TIL, bought the Gilbert site and divided it into lots of two or three acres, then sold the lots to incoming colonists at cost (11:4, Jan. 22, 1921). Only seven families composed the first delegation (11:2, April 2, 1921), but by early January, about seventy people had come to the community (11:4, Jan. 8, 1921). Five months later, the population of Gilbert was over 100 (11:4, June 4, 1921), and by De- cember of the same year the population had doubled (III 14, Dec. 24, 1921). The first letter from the community reported :

Had splendid Lord's day school, Bible study, and communion service this morning; twenty-seven present and two visitors, also lesson studv at night. Splendid interest; all of the same mind and spirit.

Please send us by return mail 20 copies P. L. [Primary Lessons in the Science of Prophecy, a Sun- day School quarterly written by John Batten field] II, No. 4. Change all our addresses on K. H. mailing list except Brother S. Let his go, as he wants his folks to get it a while.

We haven't got straightened up yet, but all seem to like it here very much. We will commence cut- ting1 Brother T's. corn in the morning and sowing tur- nips. We want to sow some wheat the last of this month. Crops are looking fine. Corn is already made.

The greatest desire in the minds of all here is to produce the things we need and to live of [sic] each other's good, and cut loose from Babylon as soon as possible so we may deliver the Gospel of the Kingdom in word and example to the whole world (11:2, Sept. 18, IQ20).

That the Gilbert area was idyllic and romantically fitting for a Utopian community is evident in the following quotation from the Joplin Globe, reprinted in the King- dom Harbinger: "The spot ... is located along the Buf- falo river, a typical mountain stream. On the opposite side of the river from the town a great bluff rises sheer from the water's edge, many feet in height. Under the town is an immense unexplored cave into which Dry Creek, a



HISTORY OF AN OZARK UTOPIA ~gr

stream of considerable size, disappears about half a mile above the town, and pours out again below the town" (II :2, Sept. 10, 1921).

The initial problems of community-building were met with optimism. Building was slowed by the prohibitive cost of materials, so the people lived in a few small houses to- gether, stored their furniture in a common storehouse, and waited for the installation of a community saw mill. Ben Battenfield noted, "Brother Haught is shipping in a modest outfit of tools for shoemaking and tanning, and the slump in hides makes them so cheap that a whole hide costs less than a single pair of children's shoes from the large fac- tories" (11:4, Jan. 15, 1921). The colonists also planned to make their own cloth, but Ben dismisses the problem ; "We need a brother who understands how to operate a textile factory, but we are not discouraged at this lack, as it will be far cheaper for us to train some of our own number than to continue to buy our textile supplies from the cloth kings" (Loc. cit.) Although strikes made trans- portation uncertain, the colonists continued to bring in ani- mals and furniture by the boxcar load (II :2, Feb. 22, 1921 ) .

But despite unflagging optimism, the community could not be bought into complete conformance with plans. Com- munal ownership was not adopted because the colonists learned that the communalists "are inclined to want a share in what possessions others have, but to keep to themselves their own possessions. We have seen such preempt a building cite [sic] without paying for it, get lumber to build without paying for it, and then talk about the glorious day when the use of money shall cease" (IV :2, Jan. 20, 1923). For the same reason, the group neglected to set up the communal storehouse for food and to abolish the use of money (11:3, March 19, 1921). The proposed community shoe factory was defeated by the high cost of leather (II :2, Sept. 10, 1921), and even after a year the textile and flour mills were still in the planning stage (11:2, Nov. 5, 1921). De- votional and intellectual life, however, were definitely satis- factory. Ben F. Battenfield wrote : "Practically all the new- comers are members of the church, and our meetings are well attended and very inspiring. We do not make them occasions



^56 ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

of dress parade, but of worship" (111:4, Dec. 24, 1921). He outlined the community routine as follows :

We have four sessions weekly of two or more hours each - Sunday morning and night, Tuesday and Thursday night. On these occasions, we sing several Kingdom songs, pray and study God's great Revela- tion, the Bible, learn how it all flows, like a mighty river, to these age-closing days. These are study periods. Even when we observe the Lord's supper on the Lord's Day, it is not our custom to have preaching. We have all heard too much preaching and done too little studying, or we try to repair our losses.

Besides the study of the prophecies, we have other classes on the other nights of the week in music and Hebrew. These are attended by fewer students than the prophecy classes. All our meetings . . . are at night, except on the Lord's Day, so that all may use the daylight hours for the necessary labors of the community (11:3, Tan. 22, IQ21).

As originally planned, a church-school "meeting house" was built. In September, 1922, school opened with three di- visions - primary, intermediate, and secondary. Apparently Ben Battenfield was intellectual leader of the community as his brother was spiritual leader, for Ben taught Bible and Hebrew, courses required of high school students (111:3, Sept. 16, 1922). In addition, he conducted a public speaking course for "young men preparing to b^e evangelists" (111:4, Aug. 26, 1922). Thfe better themes of the high school students, usually consisting of sermonettes or ex- plications of Bible passages, became a frequent feature of the Harbinger.

Community life was not dull. One visitor, a travelling minister, "looked both us and the [printing] equipment over quizzically; then he explained that he had heard we were crazy and he thought he wTould drop in and see for himself" (I 4, May 1, 1920). One issue of the Harbinger devoted space to refuting a rumor that John Battenfield had absconded with church money and another rumor that families must pay $1000 for the privilege of entering the community (II 13, April 9, 1921). There were debates upon such topics as "Resolved: That the First Resurrection, or The Rapture', will take place before the opening of the



HISTORY OF AN OZARK UTOPIA ^g^

book of the seven seals and the real tribulation period" (I:i, Aug. 14, 1920).

While the community was in the planning stage, one writer had estimated that 600,000,000 persons in the Prot- estant-Catholic nations must be warned of he approaching holocaust (1 4, Jan. 24, 1920). The Gilbert settlers therefore immediately addressed themselves to informing their neighbors, the native Arkansans. Citizen of Bruno, St. Joe, and Witts Springs accepted the new teaching eagerly (11:4, Sept. 24, 1921), especially its hope of economic betterment by sharing. A cooperative store was set up in Bruno (III :2, June 10,1922), and the Water Creek Christian Industries, a cooperative enterprise, was organized at Maumee (11:4, Nov. 26, 1921). With the support of the Gilbert people, colonies were also organized at Elkton, Oregon, and Buf- falo Ridge, Virginia.

The first colonists to the Elkton community, which was organized under the leadership of N. G. Rose and E. R. Rogers (II 4, May 7, 1921), were a Mr. and Mrs. W. D. Schutt, who arrived June 4, 1921 (11:4, June 11, 1921). By November, 1922, the community had a population of 36 families (III 4, Nov. 11, 1922). Early in 1923, the community split over a disagreement concerning land ownership, and part of the group moved seven miles from the original location (IV 13-4, July 7, 1923). The community was still functioning when publication of the Harbinger was discontinued (W:3, March 29, 1924).

Mr. C. B. Tigner, chiropractor and evangelist from New Lexington, Ohio, led the community at Buffalo Ridge. He chose the community site, one advantage of which was "no Catholic population within 50 miles" (11:2, Nov. 5, 1921). Tigner optimistically expected 400 colonists almost immediately, but eleven months of activity found only 22 persons - six families - settled (IV :2, Dec. 23, 1922; IV :I, Dec. 30, 1922). That the organization of the Virginia community was somewhat calvinistic may be inferred from his regular accounts of community life. He complained that the women were slow to adjust to the standards of a pure society. For example, they wilfully insisted on observing the pagan holiday of Christmas! (IV :i, Dec. 30, 1922).



~gg ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

But, with the zeal of a Puritan divine he noted, "The morning sermon is for detecting and strengthening of weak places in the membership of the community" {hoc. cit.) Most of the Millennialists were against Catholicism, jewelry, alcoholic beverages, and movies (IV:, 3 Dec. 9, 1922), but the Virginia group was the strictest. Ownership more nearly approached the communal ideal, and they insisted upon such practices as saying "First Day" instead of "Sunday" (IV:4, July 28, 1923).

Apparently the Gilbert community was the only one strong enough to sponsor an evangelistic program to any extent. One of the itinerant preachers, J. D. Shankle, sent back reports reminiscent of pioneer days :

. . . Some one had warned [them] not to let me preach. ... I informed them I had come to preach some and went to the schoolhouse and rang* the bell. A few of the brethren came dodging in about 9:30 and I opened fire on them. ... I said I would not . . . skin the sects as they had been accustomed to having them skinned. However, I had my skinning knife with me, but would use it on the ungodly brethren in whose hands God had placed His work which they refused to do. ... When they said they were doing very well, I turned to the mothers and asked them [why] . . . they dressed their daughters in such a way that it would destroy their sense of modesty. . . . (111:2, Aug. 19, IQ22). . . . The old elder . . . kept hearing so much and such awful things that ... he came. ... So he stayed through with his mouth open like he was catch- ing flies, and said nothing. He was like the little girl when she killed the calf; she had nothing to say and saw nothing to l,augh about" (111:2, July 29, 1922).

In accordance with Romans 1 1 :26-27, the Gilbert colonists believed that the Jews would be converted to Chris- tianity prior to the Millennium.8 The idea captured John Battenfield's imagination, and under his direction th,e colonists dropped support of other evangelists to finance his "Jewish campaign" (111:2, Oct. 28, 1922). During 1922 and 1923 Battenfield visited New York several times to preach to the Jews (IV.4, March 24, 1923). He advocated strict keeping of the Torah, especially the land laws (IV : 1-2,

7II:3, Mar. 12, 1921, e.g.



HISTORY OF AN OZARK UTOPIA ~gg

May 19, 1923). On Sept. 21, 1923, Mr. Battenfield wrote to his brother Ben :

Yesterday was Atonement. ... I spent the day at the Institutional Synagogue. Service lasted from 7 A. M. to 7 P. M. a fast day without food or drink. I am still continuing the fast this morning.

Goldstine preached a wonderful sermon, showed up Israel's chief sin as stubbornness and stiffnecked- ness. ... It was the most powerful I ever heard from the lips of a Tew and all could see his soul was on fire with his message. I am persuaded many caught the spirit of it. I was so glad tears of joy and hope flowed unbidden. . . . They certainly have a marvelous reser- voir of power in store ready to be used by the King. Of course only a few, comparatively will hear; but even a few of such devotees once filled with the spirit will reap the Harvest.

. . . Goldstine finished the reading . . . and here is why I am continuing the fast; he let loose a series of despairing wails and entreaties, sometimes almost commands, to the Lord, that made me feel that he was striving with God in the evening as he had striven with men in the morning. I am sure now the dumb Epileptic devil is in this generation as it was in the lad; and the Master informed the Disciples they could not cast it out but only thru fasting and prayer. . . .

... So I wait on the Lord . . . that there may be no deferring of his promise to men in the flesh. One man like Elijah . . . brought a nation ... to it's [sic] knees before the one true God. . . . Yesterday Goldstine pleaded . . . yet the calm quiet confidence of Elijah . . . was not in him. . . .

Verily the nations are athirst for the fountain of life and peace. . . . The Kingdom in our hands, the world's true ship of state is floundering in the tempest. . . . (IV:2-4, Sept. 30, IQ23).

The letter was published in the Harbinger with a note of explanation :

Brother Tohn . . . has been in New York City since Passover last March studying the problem of the restoration of the Tews. Hse has approached this study with strong faith in the promise of the prophecies which relate to the restoration of the remnants of Israel ... in ... "The days of the Son of Man."

. . . Here are two leaders . . . met and cemented in a close friendship in the bonds of a powerful mutual



^jQ ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

faith. . . . Now Daniel's time limit is at hand and here are two like Moses and Tethro to take the lead; we doubt not that behind them unseen by mortal eyes are cherubim, Michael and Gabriel to bring- victory (Loc. cit.).

Immediately afterward, Rabbi Goldstein organized a class of young men to study the prophecies (IV 14, Nov. 10, 1923). It may be surmised that Mr. Battenfield's personality and oratorical talent effected his acceptance at the Institutional Synagogue. One can only speculate on how completely his teachings were understood.

It was during this period that John Battenfield began to introduce ideas not held by Christians in general, or even by his own group. Perhaps because he was im- pressed by the deeply ingrained Jewish monotheism, he began to insist that members of the true church were not Trinitarians. He called the doctrine of the Trinity an "idolatrous practice which in effect exalts a plurality of God [and] leads the true spiritual Jews to call in ques- tion the authenticity of the New Testatment" (III :i, Nov. 25, 1922). Like Milton, Battenfield drew the distinc- ion between the one true God and "Messiah, the Lamb through whose sacrifice all the hosts of Israel attain their eternal triumph" (III :i, Nov. 25, 1922). As Battenfield enunciated his Christology, "The chief difference between Messiah, the Elder Brother, and the rest of the children in this Family of God is that Messiah is the only Son ever begotten of the Father Thru the Spirit in the flesh, while the rest of us are all begotten into this heavenly family thru Messiah by the Living Word" (IV 4, Aug. 18, 1923). He also began to teach that the world had been created so that the angels, who are all spirit, could experience the responsibility of keeping God's laws carnally. The angels obtained such experience vicariously, having been assigned by God to every aspect of the life of a man to guard man and to share his trials (IV :i, May 5, 1923).

At the beginning,, the movement gained impetus because the leaders could point out events which supported their conclusion that the last days were at hand. The Zionist Movement (beginning in 1897 in Basel, Switzerland) was obviously the return of Jews to their native land as pro-



HISTORY OF AN OZARK UTOPIA ^j

phesied in Daniel (I:i, 4; Nov. 29, 1919). The Irish uprising in July, 19 19, seemed to be the starting point for the Catholic-Protestant War, since the Irish were predomi- nantly Catholic and the English Protestant (1:4, Oct. n, 19 1 9). When the disorder was suppressed, official posi- tion was that God restrained the war to give the faithful more time to prepare (1:4, March 20, 1920). Other "Signs of the Times," as the column in the Harbinger devoted to prophetic current events was called, were the popularity of the ouija board (Isa. 8:18, in 1:4, April 24, 1920); "Jazzocracy," "degraded forms of the dance/' (111:3, June 24, 1922), and "sexual bolshevism" (Billy Sunday, quoted in V:3, Feb. 16, 1924) ; trouble in Oregon over state support for parochial schools (111:3, Nov. 18, 1922); the revival of the Ku Klux Klan (11:4, Jan. 22, 1921); and the rapid rise of Fascism in Italy, which was attributed to the backing of a power-mad Pope (11:3, Sept. 24, 1921). Like other Millennialists since the Reformation, the group noticed that the Pope's name in Latin (Vicarius Filii Dei) was 666, the number of the beast (See Rev. 13:18). But at least one time a Millennial writer became truly prophetic : "This invasion of the Ruhr valley and the Rhineland by France . . . will likely stir the spirit of the German people till they back a great leader like Hitler with his oganized German Facistas and overthrow the Berlin government as the Facistas led by Musolini [sic] did in Italy" (IV 13, Jan. 13, 1923).

Thie Gilbert colonists were not greatly disturbed when the world- wide religious war scheduled for 1923 did not materialize. As Ben Battenfield wrote, "If . . . war is coming, but we have mistaken the time limits and are a few years too early, have we donje ourselves an injury in segregating from this pleasure-mad society and establishing communities in the mountains? . . . We are not hurt. . . . With substantial and comfortable houses ... we are establishing a society of like-minded individuals . . . with the opportunity to rear our young people under Christian influences, teaching them the evil of the Babylonian life, and shielding them from it . . ." (111:2, Sept. 2, 1922). When half of 1923 had passjed without war, Battenfield wrote, "The point for chief emphasis is not a date," and



^72 ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

denounced those who incurred debt expecting that it could never be collected (IV 4, June 23, 1923). Of course, his

argument did not sway those who had entjered the community enticed by such considerations as "There will re- main vast quantities of ... all kinds of necessary things in the wrecks of the cities of Babylon, sufficient in quan- tity to last the people of the restored church for a generation or more (1:4, Jan. 31, 1920). But of those who left the community the faithful said, "God Himself will see to it that such as do not put their trust in Him . . . will be sifted out before the peace of God comes in" (V 14, Jan. 26, 1924 V

The colony disintegrated, not because the prophecy of a religious war failed, but because the leader, magnetic John A. Battenfield, suffered a nervous breakdown. On February 14, 1925, Mr. Battenfield announced that he would restore to life a member of the community who had died the day before. In the presence of the faithful and the curious, who had come in wagonloads to witness the r^rformance, the resurrection attempt failed. Mr. Bat- tenfield had first tried to heal the man's illness, but claimed that he failed because someone in the community lacked faith. When the first attempt at resurrection also failed, he announced that God had willed the body to be en- tombed for three days.9 Accordingly, three days later, on Sunday, a band of followers "waited in vain at the grave- yard. . . . The usually quiet town of Gilbert was a scene of excitement as the hour of church service approached, after which it was declared the miracle would be witnessed" (Op. cit., 54:5, Feb. 17, 1925). But Mr. Battenfield failed to appear at church. "Surrounded by a. band of the faithful, who still declared their faith in his miraculous powers, the Rev. John A. Battenfield, remained all day Sunday at the home of his brother, the Rev. Ben Battpnfield . . ." (Loc. cit%). Announcement was made that he had suffered a nervous breadown (Ibid.).

Publication of the Harbinger was suspended immediately.10 John Battenfield went to a friend's home on Star

8See also Rev. 7:4. 9 Arkansas Democrat, LIV:1 (Feb. 15, 1925). 10 Op. cit., LIV:2 (Mar. 7, 1925). The set of Kingdom Harbingers available

to the author (owned by Mrs. C. E. Jordan of Gilbert) was complete only up to March, 1924.



HISTORY OF AN OZARK UTOPIA ^y>

Mountain to rest for a few days, and then left for Wash- ington D. C, claiming to have a mission there. Differences arose among the leaders of the community (Loc. cit.). The vision of a truly Christian community which should be "a light to lighten the Gentiles" faded. In the confused period which followed, one fact emerged : the apocalyptic writings, if they really held the secrets of the ages, were insoluble. Accordingly, the brethren of the Gilbert church adopted the policy that the prophecies were to be studied only for moral enlightenment. It is perhaps unusual among such sects that basic tenets should be generally repudiated, but for these Campbellites, no other course was possible. Be- neath the structure of the adventist theories was the teaching of that canny Scottish founder who had written, "Sense is [man's] guide in nature, faith in religion, reason in both."11 When certain of their beliefs about the Bible proved wrong, they were abandoned.

Without the belief which built it, the community slowly dwindled. Today, only a few of the original colonists re- main, and a brown stone building is the one reminder of an idyllic community which once existed by virtue of the sonorous voice and bewitching charm of one John A. Bat- tenfield.

"Alexander Campbell, " The Christian System." In K.H. 1:2, May 1, 1920.



History of an Ozark Utopia

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