The Kaweah Colony The Kaweah Colony
was settled in 1885 by the Co-Operative Land Purchase and Colonization
Association of California, led by Burnette G. Haskell and James J.
Martin, labor activists from San Francisco. When they and the members
of their Association filed claims for land in the Sierras of eastern
Tulare County, the government became suspicious of the large number
of claims and closed the land to entry while it investigated. During
this four year investigation, the members of the Association settled
near the Kaweah river and made plans to establish a cooperative timber
company. The colony was governed by the principles of Marxian socialism,
using the concept of the labor-check, a system of currency based on
units of work performed. In 1890, however, the Kaweah colonists lost
all claims to their land when Congress established the Sequoia National
Park, and the community soon disbanded. More information: |