From a European birth, Wilhelm Keil made his way in fits and starts, all the way from one coast to the other, finishing his days in the communal town he founded, Aurora, Oregon. The story of his life was unusual to say the least.

Keil started out in what would soon be the Prussian province of Saxony. Born 6 March 1811 in the town of Bleicherode, just a year before the Royal Saxon army was marching off as part of Napoleon’s Grand Armee on its date in Russia.

NOTE: This is the first post of four moving backwards in time from the German-American communal town in Oregon of Aurora to other like settlements from which the Aurorans sprung out from.

SAXON PRUSSIA

Saxony had a long history of choosing the wrong side on the history spectrum. They were a longtime rival of Prussia to the north and east. In 1806, they found themselves raised from a mere electorate to a kingdom as a result of Napoleon. Not a great long-term move, even with the defection of the main part of the Saxon army during the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813. With Napoleon’s defeat, the ensuing Treaty of Vienna gave a large part of Saxony’s territory, population and army to Prussia in 1815 – 58% of its land and 48% of its population.

Keil trained and worked as a tailor in the town of Köllede. Here, he met and married Louise Ritter who would be his lifelong partner. They lived together in Germany until 1835 or 1836 when they emigrated to the United States. The reason for their move is unknown, though many in the area moved to America because of changes within the church structure of Prussia. Lutherans merged by royal decree with Calvinists in thought to merge churches together and promote union within the kingdom, but in practice caused further schism and emigration.

MYSTICAL ROOTS

Keil became a religious enthusiast following the path of Jacob Böhme. Böhme was a Christian mystic of the late 16th-early 17th century. His first book entitled Aurora: Die Morgenröte im Aufgang somewhat prophetically. Keil also searched for a universal cure to all that ails mankind – universalmedizin.

Gaining a little botanical and a little medical knowledge, Keil claimed to be in possession of a magical cure gained from an old German woman. He claimed she only gave him the cure since he told her he emigrating from Germany.

Once in America, the Keil’s lived in New York City for a year before moving on to Pittsburgh. Using his “cures” along with the pharmacy he established, he became the Hexendoktor – Witch Doctor – to locals.

BURNED-OVER CONVERSION

Pittsburgh was directly in the geographical area affected by the Second Great Awakening, an area of Protestant religious revival. Pietism and a more personal approach to Jesus and God was encouraged with Millennialism, Adventism and Mormonism all possible endpoints to the religious excitement. The region known as a “burned-over district” meaning the area had been set ablaze with religious fervor.

In Pittsburgh, Keil attended revival meeting led by Dr. Wilhelm Nast, founder of the German Methodist Episcopal Church.  Converting, he next met Reverend J. Martin Hartmann whose ideas of communism went a long way to pushing Keil in that direction.

On 12 October 1839, Keil gained a license as a local preacher within the church.  But he was never one for supervision.  Soon, Keil began preaching against some of the tenets of the church quoting the Bible, “Freely ye have received, freely give.” A quote he took to mean that men who served God should not receive pay but only what members saw to voluntarily give.

Carried away by the millennialistic spirit running rampant through the region, Keil added the coming of the end of times to his repertoire effectively, as well, claiming to be the second witness to the Apocalypse. Some saw him as the Second Coming directly, something he did little to discourage.

A NEW DIRECTION BEFORE THE END OF TIMES

The Methodist Episcopal Church separated him due to his criticism. In turn, he took his entire congregation of Deer Creek with him and joined next with the Protestant Methodist Church. It was not long before he was bounced from those doors for refusing to obey superiors, as well.  Keil denounced sectarianism and church regulation as unessential to Christianity.  He said his sole aim was to serve Christ, not man.  The Golden Rule and living a pure moral life became the spirit of Keil’s teachings.

harmony society

About the same time, a group of German-Americans who had lived previously in the communal reign of George Rapp – the Harmony Society – became aware of Keil. They had split off from Rapp’s town of Economy – 18 miles down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh – in 1832. The separatists moved downriver a few miles to the village of Phillipsburg. The man who had led them away from Rapp – Bernard Müller – turned out to not be the leader they had hoped for. Many still longed for a communal style of living, without celibacy that Rapp had demanded. To achieve that goal, they also needed a determined leader.

The idea of a commune under his leadership grew to the point where he sent out his missionaries again to attract artisans and mechanics to his new idea.  He offered participants only plenty of work and bread and water.

a new communal effort forms

The ex-Harmonists taught Rapp about the mechanics of running a communal village. They also showed him an important tool used by their old leader, Rapp, in controlling the village, confession.

Confession meant people had to come to him, married couples came together, and he would ask questions often relating to sex and sexual relations.  He would then use these confessions in his sermons to intimidate his flock into line.

The ex-Harmonists wanted a written constitution drawn up before committing themselves.  They could not agree on all of the provisions and asked Keil for his opinion.  He declared he would not submit to any written agreement.  A man’s word was as good as any written law. The Bible and Golden Rule should be the foundation of any society.

So, the society which became Bethel and Aurora formed and lived without any written agreements.  Land obtained in Bethel and later Aurora, Oregon was held in the name of Wilhelm Keil, but with acknowledgment of other’s monetary input into the community.

HEAVEN ON EARTH IN MISSOURI

Keil sent three men off to the west to see if they could find land in which to begin their agricultural-based commune. They found land in Shelby County of northeastern Missouri. The area was good for agriculture and isolated enough from the temptations of the world. Their adventure could begin.

With land in Missouri purchased, Keil and a few others went west in autumn of 1844 to begin their venture.  The first winter was harsh living in old log houses on or near the purchase.  In the spring of 1845, many other colonists arrived taking a contracted steamship down the Ohio and up the Mississippi.  Then, they followed a wagon route of 48 miles from Hannibal.  Keil’s first commune took shape. 

The Bethel Colony was considered a success after a couple of hard years. Even so, Keil began to lose faith in the long-term viability of the community. Some of the original settlers of the colony withdrew their formal memberships, but continued to live in the community—albeit with individualistic attitudes and capitalistic interests. This is one reason writers have surmised pushing Keil further west. According to Keil, “It was not the fault of the country that we undertook the journey to Oregon, but the people themselves. If the people had submitted to discipline and given heed to the voice of God it would not have been necessary to leave Bethel.”

HEAD FARTHER WHEN THE WORLD IMPINGES

It may have been one reason – Keil did not seem to be one who liked his authority tested – but the Doctor suffered from a streak of wanderlust. Bethel’s isolation beginning to be undermined by an individualistic world. Once plentiful game drastically decreased with time. Malaria was rampant in Missouri, as well. His son Willie returned from school only to die at the young age of 19.

Keil had already decided to move further west, hearing the many stories about the Oregon Country. Willie’s death was a final straw with his bereaved father crying out it was time to get out of the “damned-dog world”.

The process of establishing a second colony in Oregon started in 1853 with nine scouts sent west to find a site. Nine colonists went out to find good land for the colony. They found land just to the east of Willapa Bay in what is today Washington State.

wILLIE LEADS THE WAY

Keil had promised to take his son with him when he trekked to the west. A man of his word, Willie’s casket rode in the lead wagon – Willie embalmed in Golden Rule whiskey distilled in the Bethel colony – of a 25 wagon train. This, the first of three wagon trains to come west from Bethel.

The group had many adventures on their westward journey. They reached Willapa Bay in November just in time for the rainy season. Be careful what you ask for. The Bethelites had reached an area of isolation far from the edge of the world. The winter deluges, isolation pushed Keil into rejecting the site. With some of the young men, he decamped up the Columbia to Portland to find work – Keil as a physician. Meanwhile, the main group overwintered in the dank coastal forests.

THE NEW DAWN – KEIL FOUNDS A NEW AURORA

While in Portland, Keil was given some apples to eat. Finding them excellent in quality, he asked if there was still land in the area where they had been grown available. A quick trip south showed Keil a heavily wooded plain not far east from the old settlement at Champeog where Oregon gained its first local government.

In spring of 1856, the cattle brought west by the colony were traded for a mill and two quarter sections of land in Marion County above the Pudding River. Keil remained in Portland until June 1857 before heading south to the new site at Aurora. By 1863 – there were no more than 50 members before this time – more than 250 members of the Bethel Colony emigrated to Aurora with the colony eventually numbering around 600. Three migrations of 1863, 1865 and 1867 greatly increased Aurora’s population with groups numbering about 200, 75 and 50, respectively.

The new settlement gained the name Aurora, a favorite word among German mystics like Keil meaning “Dawn”. It also happened to be the name of his favorite daughter. Keil sent out a call for all Bethelites living in Oregon to congregate and begin the irksome job of clearing the land in Aurora. Some opted out.

aURORA ARISES

Today, the main town of Aurora sits next to Oregon Highway 99E. That highway took out much of the original colonial grid pattern. Many colonists lived outside the village of separate farms in a departure from the older geographical communal models. The colony situated about halfway between Portland and Salem, advantageously used by the colony developed a successful hotel and restaurant which were stops for stage coaches and the railroad when it came in 1870.

Small scale industry developed to supply the colony with its needs, much like earlier in Bethel. The main colonial focus was upon agriculture – fruits, ciders, apple butter. Products shipped down the Willamette River with steamboats being cheaper than trains.

STRUCTURES REMAIN THE SAME

Family of families is how the structure of the colony has been explained. Communal storehouses from which families got the same amounts, wearing the same simple clothes and yet each family with their own home and hobbies.

Culture was not a thing appreciated much by the colony beyond the colony band. Children received education four months a year and they could go on outside the colony if the end result of the education would benefit the colony. For the sake of just learning, the bible remained all that mattered.

Keil continued his theocracy in Aurora using that bible, selectively, as a source, modifying scripture as needed. He extolled communal living – live for all and not just yourself – placing self sacrifice against selfishness. Like in earlier days, he still like to center on apocalyptical and emotional themes. He was, after all, the second witness of the Apocalypse.

THE LONG GOODBYE

In 1870, the Oregon and California Railroad came through Aurora in 1870. Outside influences again increased within the Colony. As Keil aged, his magic began to wane in the 1870’s in both Aurora and Bethel, especially among the young.

His sons, August and Fred were not the leader their father was. There was also some question about the size of Wilhelm’s wine cellar. Keil tried stymying young people asking they marry only within the Colony and later not marry – bachelors left more land to the colony. As he got older, Keil partially withdrew from the active leadership of the colony with discontent rising within the Colony.

Economically, the Colony’s situation was very good with about 23,000 acres of farm lands, three towns and several mills. In 1866, a written constitution of sorts was finally drawn up transferring land titles from Keil’s name to seven trustees, all staunch supporters of the doctor.

Individualism came to fore as he aged with plans to split up the colony present even in his last years – one report notes it may have hastened his death in 1877. Many questioned whether Keil was a true communist at heart or only so far as it suited him.

VISITING AURORA TODAY

The days of the colony are long gone. A few homes remain, if you have a good eye. Wilhelm’s second home is just out of town to the northwest on the road to the airport. It is the largest dwelling left in Aurora. Keil’s homes served as a focal point for the colony here, too. His family shared the home with several bachelor members of the colony. Wilhelm Keil’s first house – Das Große Haus – served as a focal point for the Aurora colony here as it did in Bethel. That house, unlike his home in Bethel – Elim – has been lost to time in a fire.

A family cemetery is a little farther to the west. It lies on private land but a friendly request will gain you entrance to the small Keil family plot – note the main cemetery for Aurora is further to the west near the I-5 freeway.

Here in the family plot lies the Doctor, his wife, his children and the family of his closest lieutenant, the Giesy’s.

charles nordhoff

Eminent 19th century journalist Charles Nordhoff visited the colony in 1874. Nordhoff came to America at the age of five from Ermite, in the Westphalian region of Prussia. Fluent in German, some of his conversations with Dr. Keil in Aurora are recounted in his book The Communistic Societies of the United States – 1875. Nordhoff was not impressed with either the colony which he described as haphazard and untidy nor with the leader whom he described as excitable and a bit of a fanatic. But passing the graves of Keil’s children, the doctor related to the journalist,

“Here” he said, “lie my children – all I had, five; they all died after they were men and women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one. One after the other I laid them here. It was hard to bear; but now I can thank God for that too. He gave them, and I thanked him; he took them and now I can thank him too.” Then, after a minute’s silence, he turned upon me with sombre eyes and said: “To bear all that comes upon us in silence, in quiet, without noise, or outcry, or excitement, or useless repinning-that is to be a man, and that we can do only with God’s help.” – page 319 The Communistic Societies of the United States

Aurora, his daughter lies here. She and three other of Keil’s children fell victim to an outbreak of smallpox in 1862.

old aurora colony museum

Any visit to the colony should start at the Museum. The Aurora Colony Historical Society dates to 1963 with the museum coming along three years later. In 1974, twenty sites placed on the National Register of Historical Places made Aurora the first historic district of its kind in the state. Beyond the gift shop, a visit to the museum is only $5.

The museum is located in the former Ox Barn of the Colony. Built originally in 1860 as a barn for the oxen, it later became a store and then a house. The house given to the historical society in 1963.

colony homes

Beyond the exhibits in the Ox Barn, there are a couple other homes on display. The next door George Kraus house was moved a couple of blocks to here. Inside are typical colonial furnishings mostly donated from the Kraus family. The house is similar to those you can find in Missouri and Pennsylvania revealing the communal roots.

A late colony log house built for George Steinbach is behind the Oxbarn. Built in 1876, the home was moved three miles from its old site near the Willamette River to here in 1967.

In the back of the museum complex is the Will Family Washhouse donated in 1977 and moved across the street. Clothes washing, making of sausage, sauerkraut and apple butter all took place in this building.

In 2006-2007, a large tool shed erected to house several shops used by the colonists – boot-shoe shop, blacksmithery, wheel wainwright. A restored Moline wagon is on display similar to the one used to carry Willie Keil’s coffin west from Missouri. Two of the three church bells and original grist stones can also be seen.

lost in time

The colony hotel and Aurora colony church have both disappeared with time – the hotel was next to the train depot while the church was out near the Keil family cemetery. The colony church here and in Bethel were some of the most dramatic architecture of the town. With the break up of the colony, its unique religious system broke down as well, The churches were not recycled as such in the post-colonial world.

Keep your eyes open and you will be able to spot other colonial houses in the town – easier if you pick up a map from the museum first.