CASSADEGA - AN AMERICAN SPIRITUALIST CAMP

The Travel Channel rated CASSADEGA one of the ten weirdest places in America, but considering the fact it was the only complete town that made the list, it is a fitting rating for an entire village.

But Cassadega, located between Orlando and Daytona Beach via the Lake Helen exit of I-10, is a real functioning community with real economic, religious, and social institutions. What makes the place so different, is that its main economy is spiritualism talking to the deceased via some of the two dozen mediums or during a church meeting.

The Cassadega Hotel Spirits Check In And Stay

While the local residents (some 250) accept the steady flow of curious tourists, smiling skeptics, and entertainment seekers, they are very serious and professional in responding to the honest questions by visitors seeking information.

When Spiritualist leader GEORGE COLBY arrived in the rural farm area in 1894, few of the nearby farmers realized how a SOUTHERN SPIRITUALIST CAMP MEETING site on 57 acres of the land would put the location on the map. The National Register of Historic Places site has no campgrounds for the name camp refers to a gathering place for believers of spiritualism.

Colby had good reason for seeking a winter refuge for spiritualism since he had TB. Incredibly bathing in the waters of Spirit Lake cured him. The best way to feel Cassadaga is to walk around the rural streets. I must say that you will experience more on foot than driving in your automobile.

The buildings have been restored in recent years and the Sunday healing is held each week mornings in the COLBY MEMORIAL TEMPLE (1923) with other Sunday lectures at the ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS BUILDING.

The Main Hall of the Temple is often packed in the winter months.1897 White House

HARMONY HALL is a place with a gift shop, a library on Spiritualism, and what might best be described as a Chamber of Commerce for the mediums. BRIGHAM HALL is another meeting spot for speakers and guests.

The Brigham Meeting Center and Meditation Gazebo

Certified mediums are listed online at Cassadega's main website and many of them have websites and email addresses besides telephone numbers. Since most people don't know what to expect from a visit to a medium, the Spiritualist community is very deliberate in giving step by step instructions to potential visitors.

The CASSADEGA HOTEL (1928) replaced a Victorian structure that burnt in a fire. Although it is convenient to Daytona Beach, I would NOT book some race car pals into this hotel as a lark. The place is haunted, but that won't compare to the cold shoulder you will get from all the serious believers.