Jacksonville's African Princess: Laura Adorka Kofi

[IrvAdams]

This post is excellent, thank you for sharing the historic details. I look forward to more.

[jcjohnpaint]

Thanks for posting this wonderful story. 

[sheclown]

thanks guys -- although you really shouldn't encourage me -- I'm not getting to those chores I need to do

[thelakelander]

Great thread, Sheclown! We forgive you for not doing your chores.

[sheclown]

Great thread, Sheclown! We forgive you for not doing your chores.

[JaxUnicorn]

This is truly an inspirational story of a woman who traveled from afar to do her king's bidding, bring her fellow brothers and sisters home and sadly died for her efforts.  Why would the City of Jacksonville NOT grant landmark status? 

Regarding expanding the mothball ordinance to structures outside of registered historic districts....Sheclown and I met with CM Reggie Brown on September 30, 2013 to discuss this very issue.  It just makes sense to afford this protection to structures all over the city!  CM Brown was very interested in the subject and even started to set up the meeting with the pertinent parties on 10/3/13.  Shortly after, we received an email saying the 10/03/13 meeting was cancelled because CM Gaffney (whom sheclown and I had also met with immediately before meeting with CM Brown) had set up a meeting with the exact same people for 10/22/13, and they were going to combine the two issues into the same meeting.

The meeting scheduled for 10/22/13 never happened and has yet to be rescheduled despite numerous requests from me.

CM Brown, as this is in your district, will you now re-schedule the very important meeting to discuss expanding the mothball ordinance to all of Jacksonville???

[Tacachale]

Thanks for the info, Sheclown. It strikes me that landmarking the whole compound may be viable path so that the site can get the protection it needs while still allowing the congregation to decide their own course of action. At any rate, the fact that the greater Adorkaville site is what makes this area so unique and significant.

I can think of two other religious compounds that have taken somewhat different paths to become historic sites in Florida, and it has definitely paid off. Both are, shall we say, "unique", and both have become decent visitor attractions. However, both sites are much bigger than Adorkaville and the buildings are in much better shape.

First is the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp. It's not far from here, in Volusia County. "Spiritualism" in this context refers to the 19th-century movement that thought living people could communicate with the dead through seances, mediums, Ouija boards, and whatnot. Cassadaga was founded in 1894 by George P. Colby as a camp and meeting center for Spiritualists across the country.

Due to its importance as a hub for this movement, historic landmark status was sought and the camp was added to the National Register of Historic Sites in 1991. As a historical site it benefits from having a number of impressive buildings and the fact that it's still a functioning camp for so-called psychics as well as others who just want to check it out.

Camp entrance and Cassadaga Hotel:


Even crazier than Cassadega is the Koreshan State Historic Site near Estero, in Lee County. This was formerly the site of the Koreshan Unity utopian compound. This sect was founded by Cyrus Teed and relocated to Florida in 1894. Among other things, they believed we all live on the inside of a hollow earth, with the sun in the center.

The last living Koreshan follower inherited the compound and deeded it to the state in 1961. There are only a few buildings to be seen there. As a historic site the Koreshan Site benefits from state ownership and many acres of beautiful wilderness around it.

The Koreshan "Planetary Court"


It may be possible for Adorkaville to have the whole site get landmarked, and then apply for grants to put the necessary work into the buildings. It seems pretty clear they need a lot of help. Or perhaps at some remove the congregation would be willing to sell or donate the land to the city or state to make a park out of it. There are many possibilities.

[Scrub Palmetto]

This is fascinating history! I have a question and a couple comments, but first I want to say I greatly appreciate this story being shared. Thank you to everyone who digs up little-known gems like this from Jax's past.

I'm curious about the use of terms like king and princess in Africa. Are there fundamental differences between a kingdom and a chiefdom in native Africa, or are they more or less interchangeable or unclear distinctions?

I've always found it hard to grasp how easily Africa adopted the religion of their colonial oppressors, to the point that there's nothing ironic about an African princess calling African Americans simultaneously to their roots and to God.

Why she chose Jacksonville as her headquarters:


from http://www.lauraakofi.org/Princess_Laura_Adorka_Kofi.pdf

As a geography nut, I have to express fault with the point drawn from this map. Jacksonville is in fact the farthest city on the East Coast from Ghana, with Miami and everything from Savannah to Maine being closer. Boston is over 500 miles closer, and even inland Pittsburgh is closer to Ghana than Jacksonville. It's a minor fault, of course, as it simply means she must have chosen Florida primarily for other reasons.

[sheclown]

Those are all very good questions.

And I do not have any answers to them! 

I found this story to be magical and wondrous as well.

[sheclown]

The demolition of this property will occur very shortly.   The city contractors were there this week doing the preliminary environmental reviews which is a requirement of this demolition.

It is a very sad statement indeed.  Not only is this rich in history, it is rich in Jacksonville's unique history. 

[Tacachale]

They're demolishing all the remaining buildings? So much for turning it into a park or community area. I understand everything's been in pretty bad shape for a long time.

[Tacachale]

Does anyone know what happened with this? Are the buildings gone?

[RattlerGator]

How consistent: the Garveyites kill her because (it seems) she gained her own level of fame just as Elijah Muhammad's people killed Malcolm X for much the same reason.

Sigh.

I'm not so sure Adorkaville was a site that should have been saved. It's an incredibly interesting history, though, no doubt about that.

[thelakelander]

Does anyone know what happened with this? Are the buildings gone?

Looking at recent aerials, it appears all the buildings have been demolished.