Nashoba Commune
Nashoba Commune, an experimental project of Fanny Wright initiated in 1825 to educate and emancipate slaves, was located in a 2,000 acre (8 km²) woodland on the side of present-day Germantown, Tennessee, a Memphis suburb, along the Wolf River.
The purpose of the commune was to educate slaves to prepare them for freedom and colonization in Haiti. Nashoba was based on Owen's New Harmony settlement and theories of racial equality, but outlasted New Harmony. Nashoba lasted until Wright became ill with malaria and moved back to Europe to recover. The interim management of Nashoba did not take Wright's benevolent approach to the slaves living in Nashoba. Rumors spread of inter-racial marriage and the Commune fell into financial difficulty, eventually leading to its closing.
Nashoba is described briefly in Frances Trollope's 1832 book Domestic Manners of the Americans.
Nashoba lives on in name at Twin Oaks Community, a contemporary commune of 100 members in Virginia. All Twin Oaks' buildings are named after communities that no longer exist, and "Nashoba" is the name of the residence built specifically for older members.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
