The town of Cassadaga, located approximately ten miles south of DeLand, is home to the oldest Spiritualist community in the Southeastern United States. Prevalent in the nineteenth century, Spiritualists professed a belief that the dead could communicate with the living through individuals sensitive to their influence, known as mediums. Cassadega was founded by Spiritualist medium George Colby, a well-known traveling clairvoyant from New York.

In 1875, Colby, guided by a Seneca Indian spirit, embarked on a journey, first to Wisconsin to link up with another medium and then to Florida, where the two men made their way into the central interior of the state. Coming upon a serene location with several small hills, and convinced that this was the place to which he had been instructed by the Indian spirit, Colby chose to settle there. In 1880, he filed for a homestead and received 145 acres from the United States government. In 1894, he donated 35 of those acres to establish the Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association with help of members of a spiritualist community in New York.

Most of the spiritualists that arrived in Cassadaga, either as visitors or residents, were white, middle-class northerners. However, Spiritualists continually maintained that their faith and religious practices were open to all races, castes, and creeds hoping to fulfill the promise of a universal brotherhood of man.

As the twentieth century dawned, the town had its own multi-story hotel, and Henry Flagler's East Coast Railroad sold weekend tickets to the town, profiting from the stream of visitors that arrived during the winter months.

In 1926, a massive fire destroyed the hotel and several homes. However, Edward F. Loud, a successful businessman and lumber tycoon from Michigan, spurred town residents to invest in a new hotel featuring forty rooms. Unfortunately, the hotel failed during the Great Depression and was sold to a private owner in 1933. In June of that same year, founder George Colby died from a stroke, marking the end of an era for the community.

Cassadaga has not grown significantly since Colby's death, meaning that many of its houses predate the Depression. While providing travelers with a beautiful example of old Florida, the town offers a haunting presentation of the Spiritualist faith. Visitors can find spiritual mediums offering an experience meant to transcend the physical world.

This podcast made possible through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council. Script written by Kyle Burke. Narrated by Dave Dunwoody.