http://www.israelitehouseofdavid.org/

Israelite House of David, PO Box 1067, Benton Harbor, MI (2026)

09/07/2026

The Connecticut Crash

Achieving immense popularity on the barnstorming circuit, the House of David baseball team drew large crowds wherever the bewhiskered athletes played. As a result of the team’s fame, numerous imposter teams formed, seeking to profit from the real team’s reputation. These unlicensed clubs wore similar uniforms, grew or glued on beards, and used the House of David name without permission. There were probably close to a dozen such copycat unlicensed teams.

One of the most infamous counterfeit House of David teams was the ballclub run by Louis Murphy. Like the official House of David team, Murphy’s club toured extensively from the late 1920s to the 1950s. This team ran afoul of the law several times, and, as the two teams were often mistaken for one another, the actual House of David got sometimes pulled into the legal proceedings.

The son of an attorney, Louis Murphy was born in September 1891, in Spring Valley, Illinois. He was quite the renaissance man with one 1918 notice saying he was a fire insurance agent, owned four movie theaters, and was a newspaper editor. Throughout the ensuing decades, he also worked as a manager and promoter for his own knockoff House of David baseball and basketball teams.

The House of David finally sued Louis Murphy in 1934 for profiting off the colony’s name and likeness without permission. Though he was headquartered out of Spring Valley, Illinois, his baseball team frequently played in and around New York City. As such, the lawsuit was brought in the Southern District of New York. After losing the suit, Murphy was permitted to keep his team on the road as long as he licensed the House of David name for the hefty fee of $20,000 per year (about $500,000 today). This now made his team one of six legitimate House of David baseball teams on the road during the decade.

On August 1, 1941, Louis Murphy’s House of David baseball team got into an automobile accident in Portland, Connecticut. The driver of the team’s Cadillac, Louis Varanese, cut in front of oncoming traffic while making a left-hand turn at an intersection. Helen Woodruff, driving her 1941 Studebaker, crashed into the side of the Cadillac. A car operated by Adelbert Budrow then ran into Woodruff’s car. Varanese was detained at the time by state police for causing the pileup.

In August 1942, Woodruff filed a lawsuit against the House of David for damages. The plaintiff alleged that Louis Varanese, operating as an agent for the colony, drove recklessly and disregarded traffic laws. Having suffered severe injuries that required medical treatment for which she incurred significant expenses, Woodruff sought $5,000 in damages (about $102,000 today).

According to Murphy, the witnesses misidentified his baseball team as the actual House of David baseball team run by the colony. Because of this initial mistake, the Superior Court of Middlesex County issued a summons to appear in court not to Murphy, but to the House of David. The court ordered the commune to pay thousands of dollars in restitution to the plaintiff and to the state. The Archives & Collections still has multiple copies of the summons.

After conferring with Murphy, the House of David pled no contest and waited for the Plaintiff to sue them in Michigan. As there was no evidence tying the colony to Veranese, no judgement materialized. Nevertheless, the original lawsuit dragged on for close to seven years. Further complicating the matter, Varanese died unexpectedly in 1943. The case was finally dismissed in the late 1940s.

This protracted legal saga highlights the trouble knockoff teams caused for the House of David. Louis Murphy’s House of David baseball team not only undercut the colony team’s income by appropriating their name and likeness for commercial purposes, it also sullied its reputation by embroiling them unnecessarily in a costly lawsuit. At the same time, the legal confusion surrounding the accident allowed Murphy to get away with never paying Helen Woodruff the settlement she deserved.

09/04/2026

Welcome to the Israelite House of David's page!

Founded in 1902 in Ohio by Benjamin and Mary Purnell, the Israelite House of David was a Christian Israelite communal religious society. The founders relocated the organization to Benton Harbor, Michigan, in 1903. Over the course of the century, early members who had arrived as children or young adults grew older. Due to limited recruitment after the 1920s and a strict commitment to celibacy, there was no second generation to take their place. Today, the House of David is managed by Trustees actively working to preserve its historic legacy. Because it is a private institution, the buildings and grounds remain closed to the public at this time.

Established in 2021, the Israelite House of David Archives & Collections serves as a research library dedicated to preserving a vast array of documents, manuscripts, objects, and photographs. Our professional staff organized the holdings into three focus areas: the House of David, Berrien County, and American Communal Societies. If you are interested in researching our collections, use the link in the side bar to visit our website and complete a Research Request Form.

09/04/2026

Collections Friday!

A wonderful color lantern slide of the Ladies Band taken on the Main Stage inside Eden Springs Park in 1939. The image is from a series of photos taken of the Ladies Band, likely for promotional purposes. The Archives & Collections has the other four images as glass negatives. Interestingly, this lantern slide is the only one in which Ida Caudle Wyland is not present; in the other pictures, she sits in the back row, far right.

Identifications, Left to Right:
Back row: Ethel Tucker Rosetta, Florence "Flossie" Tulk, Ami Woodworth, and Ruby Glover Cady
Front row: Eunice Goodwin Baushke, Chris Dalager, unidentified, Violet McFarlane Tucker, unidentified, Gladys Herbertson, Manna Woodworth, Mabel Blackburn, Jewel Boone, Vera Wright, and Ruth Estes

09/02/2026

Berrien County Spotlight: One Ship Two Names: the Story of the “City of Chicago” and “City of St. Joseph”

Built in 1890 in West Bay City, MI, by the F.W. Wheeler & Company for the Benton Harbor-based Graham & Morton Line, the “City of Chicago” crossed Lake Michigan thousands of times while the steamer was active. It was the first steel-hulled boat built by the F.W. Wheeler & Company.

A September 1893 newspaper advertisement described the “City of Chicago” as a “superb new steamer … whose first class appointments make travel via lake the acme of comfort and convenience.”

The boat measured 211 feet in length, was 34 feet wide, and was 15 feet in depth. However, the “City of Chicago” was later lengthened to 254 feet.

The “City of Chicago” ran between the Twin Cities and Chicago for over twenty years before a fire broke out in September of 1914. The fire, thought to have started near the engine room, spread quickly, leading the steamer to crash dramatically into the breakwater south of Chicago’s harbor. Fortunately, all 94 passengers and 56 crew members escaped, but the cargo of fruit was a complete loss. The South Bend New Times reported the “City of Chicago” to be “practically a complete loss.”

Typically, a fire of this magnitude would have ended the steamer’s history, and in a way, it did. The “City of Chicago” was taken to Manitowoc and totally rebuilt. With it made as fireproof as possible and several other upgrades, the boat was a brand new ship by the time the restoration was complete. So different, in fact, that Graham & Morton renamed her “City of St. Joseph” when it resumed operation.

The “City of St. Joseph” sailed with Graham & Morton until 1924, when the steamer was sold to the Goodrich Line. It operated until the boat was sold again in 1935 to an individual who dismantled it, transforming it into a barge for use on Lake Superior in the pulpwood trade.

08/31/2026

Pulp Fiction: The House of David and KING OF HAREM HEAVEN

The reputation of the House of David (HOD), a religious commune based in Benton Harbor, Michigan, was dragged through the mud in the 1920s during a series of legal scandals. Newspapers had a field day with spicy stories about the commune, and the State of Michigan’s prosecution of colony founder Benjamin Purnell in 1927 was front page news. When reporters ran out of ta**ry stories about Benjamin and the commune, they simply made up more. The 1920s was the era of "yellow journalism,” when newspapers printed whatever sold—whether it was true or not. While Purnell was clearly no angel and likely abused young women at the colony, the press exaggerated his offenses and accused him of all sorts of other improbable crimes and, further, claimed bizarre, cultish rituals took place at the colony. These exaggerations and untruths still haunt the memory of the HOD.

Equally damaging to the HOD’s historical reputation was an infamous pulp novel KING OF HAREM HEAVEN (Monarch Books, 1960). The cheap, sleazy dime-store paperback was a work of fiction. Yet, this smutty book profoundly influenced the public’s perception of the HOD. So, who wrote KING OF HAREM HEAVEN? And why? The cover lists Anthony Sterling as author. However, Anthony Sterling didn’t exist. Sterling was a pen name used by popular outdoor writer Eugene Lee “Gene” Caesar (1927-1986), the son of another novelist and short story writer, Eunice Lee Caesar (1906-1984), both of Saginaw, Michigan.

Caesar became interested in the HOD after coming across the ruins of the Christian Israelite commune’s abandoned lumber camp while on a hunting trip to High Island in the 1950s. He also heard rumors and wild stories about the “cult” from local Chippewa and Odawa, former residents of the island, as well as from area fishermen.

These seamy stories whet his appetite. Out of this curiosity was born KING OF HAREM HEAVEN, framed and shaped by Caesar’s gift for writing lurid and sensationalized pulp fiction for men’s adventure magazines. He never let the truth get in the way of a good story, so he did little research into the House of David. The resulting novel was as sensationalized and sex-drenched as he could possibly make it—in classic pulp fiction style. It was so smutty in fact that he chose not to attach his real name to it.

Caesar probably published the novel under a fake name to shield himself from potential lawsuits for slander or defamation by the HOD, still an active commune in 1960 with more than a hundred members.

Another reason Caesar probably published the book under the Anthony Sterling name was because by 1960 his writing career had taken off. His articles appeared more frequently in prominent publications, such as the SATURDAY EVENING POST and COSMOPOLITAN. Further, respectable presses, such as Putnam & Sons and Prentice Hall, had published his recent books. This was in sharp contrast to the racy “men’s” magazines and pulp fiction publishers that released his earlier work. Caesar sought to distance himself from his trashier writing and rebrand himself as a serious author.

Caesar had published regularly in what were known as “pulp” magazines, inexpensive fiction publications popular during the early years of the 20th century through the 1960s. They were printed on cheap wood pulp paper and were known for lurid, exploitative, and sensational subject matter. These adventure magazines, also known as “slicks,” featured pin-up girls and lurid tales of adventure, war, exotic travel, and conflict with wild animals—always promoted as true stories (they weren’t). Their covers featured sc****ly clad women in distress, and men (always white) fighting menacing n***s, communists, criminals, men of color, or, most often, ferocious animals. One of the most successful slicks was TRUE, to which Caesar was a regular contributor. He published dozens of stories in the slick during the 1950s-1960s.

At the peak of his popularity as an author from 1955-1970, Caesar was known for his writings about the American West, hunting, and wildlife. Today, he is best remembered as the author of the popular KING OF THE MOUNTAIN MEN (1961), still the definitive biography of frontiersman Jim Bridger, and another biography, INCREDIBLE DETECTIVE (1968), about famed real-life detective William J. Burns. KING OF THE MOUNTAIN MEN was influential on later film adaptations of Bridger’s life. These include Richard Sarafian’s “Man in the Wilderness” (1971), starring Richard Harris, and the critically acclaimed Alejandro González Iñárritu film, “The Revenant” (2015), starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

08/28/2026

Collections Friday!

A postcard of Garnet Herbertson posing with a Reeves’s pheasant perched upon his arm at the Eden Park Zoo in North Ryde, Australia, in 1937.

As is well known, the Israelite House of David left their mark far from just the bounds of Benton Harbor. The House of David had a successful branch colony in North Ryde, Australia, from 1905 to the 1990s. In 1904 and 1905, Benjamin and Mary Purnell visited the satellite colony, recruiting 85 members of the colony to return with them. The remaining colony members continued to both recruit converts and exercise their entrepreneurial spirit in preparation for an eventual reunion with the main branch in Benton Harbor.

Among their many ventures was Eden Park, a small vacation resort similar to Eden Springs Park, founded in the 1920s. Standing out among the homes of colony members, fields of crops, and shops of locally sourced produce, stood the Eden Park Zoo. The Eden Park Zoo held a wide variety of animals, including kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, and komodo dragons. Most prominent among these animals was the menagerie of birds at the park, including emus, parrots, finches, African lovebirds, Mandarin ducks, Japanese thrushes, doves, and their prized pheasants.

Garnet Lionel Herbertson was born in Euroa, Victoria, Australia. While it is not certain when Garnet joined the local colony, his brother, Reginald Herbertson (1884-1978), transferred to the Benton Harbor colony in 1917, suggesting that Garnet may have been involved with the Australian colony around that time. Garnet worked as the manager of the Eden Park Zoo. Garnet’s pride and joy was the collection of pheasants at the park, which he raised from chicks in a wide variety of colors and varieties. Additionally, Garnet managed the Australian colony’s model farm in the Richmond Lowlands of Australia. Garet Herbertson died on December 27, 1948.

08/27/2026

Internship Retrospective: Memories of Win Schuler

As we have been going through our local history object collection we have found each object has a story to tell. This is especially true of restaurants as food brings people together. Our restaurant collection has many stories of contemporary and historic restaurants throughout the county's history. One of these being the Win Schuler.

Born in New York, Albert Schuler, was adopted by a family in Marshall, Michigan. He became a traveling butcher and his family later opened a lunch shop. Then their grandson Win Schuler joined the family business, expanding the restaurant and adding a bowling alley and a large dining area called the “centennial room.” The restaurant had an old English aesthetic, comparable to a family-style tavern or pub. As seen with the serving trays from the restaurant featured here, they featured their famous "Bar-Scheeze," a mixture of cheese and beer served in signature souvenir corks served immediately upon being seated. The different locations around Michigan featured the same English decor, replete with Charles Dickens quotes and various other British-themed decorations. Win Schuler restaurants became a franchise, with locations established in towns and cities in western and central Michigan including Jackson, Grand Haven, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and St. Joseph.

A severe fire devastated the St. Joseph location in 1964. Fortunately no injuries were recorded but the damage forced its closure. The owners moved the restaurant to Stevensville, where it remained in operation until in 2004. The location has since become the “5’O Clock Sports Bar,” which boasts pool tables and live sports on numerous televisions. Unfortunately, the bar didn’t catch on and eventually the old Win Schuler’s restaurant building was torn down. However, the Win Schuler’s in Marshall is still in business and thriving today.

Despite all but one of its Michigan locations closing, for several generations Schulers has made its imprint on the county. In fact, while not technically a “Win Schuler” franchise, the restaurant “Schu’s” in downtown St. Joseph is operated by Larry Schuler, grandson of Win, who keeps the family restaurant legacy alive into a fourth generation.

08/21/2026

Collections Friday!

A photograph of a postcard for the House of Davids girl’s baseball team.

Left to right: Mildred Vaughn Vogler, May Vaughn, Marie Falkenstein Bell, Marge Vieritz Boyersmith, Maretta Smith Martin, Jewel Boone, unidentified, Frieda Falkenstein Caudle, and unidentified.

Did you know that the House of David sponsored a girls baseball team? Formed in 1919, this short-lived team only played for a year, playing mostly at the Eden Springs Park for home games. The team went undefeated in that year, playing against teams such as the Chicago Colored Girls and the Chicago All-American Ladies team.

Jewel Boone, the team’s star pitcher, was said to have been good enough to play on the boys team, if she had been allowed. The HOD even later considered putting her on the men’s touring barnstorming exhibition team. Why they didn't is unclear, as the team later had two different women (nonmembers) pitch for the squad, Jackie Mitchell and Babe Didrikson Zaharias, in 1933 and 1934 respectively.

A little known fact about the HOD girls team was that a third of its members were boys disguised as girls. The fact that boys at the HOD grew their hair long made it sometimes difficult to tell them apart from girls before they reached puberty, especially when dressed in girl’s clothing. The reason for this deception is unclear. Though their run lasted only one season, the team reveals an intriguing and lesser-known chapter of the House of David's baseball history.

08/20/2026

Shaker Sleigh Bench

The House of David’s Communal Societies Collection holds a bench made by the Shakers during the 19th century. Its unique shape suggests the fact that the bench was used in a Shaker sleigh. It features original yellow-green paint.

The bench came from the collection of Faith and Edward Deming Andrews. From 1923 until Faith Andrews’ death in 1990, Faith and Edward Deming Andrews were the foremost collectors and scholars of Shaker antiques. They authored many books on the subject, and their work in studying, documenting, and preserving Shaker history had a great impact on the trajectory of Shaker scholarship and appreciation.

The collection of Faith and Edward Deming Andrews was compiled in a number of exhibitions and a book by Mario S. De Pillis and Christian Goodwillie entitled Gather Up the Fragments: The Andrews Shaker Collection. The Shaker Sleigh Bench was featured among the furniture, publications, and ephemera in the Andrews collection as a prime example of Shaker craftsmanship.

08/18/2026

Wonderful Volunteers & Interns

Last month, the Archives & Collections staff showed their appreciation to our fantastic volunteers and interns with a behind-the-scenes tour of Diamond House. The tour included information about the history of Diamond House and the members who called it home, along with highlighting some of the A&C’s Shaker Object Collection items.

Our Volunteers and Interns are a valuable addition to our team, allowing us to increase and complete more projects. They are also an amazing source of information about Berrien County.

While volunteer spots are currently full, follow us on our social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram) to be the first to know when the program expands!

Israelite House of David

09/07/2026

09/04/2026

09/04/2026

09/02/2026

08/31/2026

08/28/2026

08/27/2026

08/21/2026

08/20/2026

08/18/2026

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Place Of Worship

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Listing takedown request