COMPOUND OBJECT (6 Items)
The Burley Community: Preserving the Past Item Info
- Title:
- The Burley Community: Preserving the Past
- Creator:
- Wilson, Tom
- Date Created:
- 2015
- Description:
- The Burley Utopian Community was part of the growing Social Equity Movement of the latter part of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries. The origin of the idea of seeding the United States with Socialist Communities came from an organization led by Eugene V Debs. Debs was a veteran of the labor troubles that gripped the nation beginning in the 1880's and culminated with the deaths of thirteen workers during the Pullman Strike. Debs began to believe that the only hope for the workingman was Socialism. With that in mind the national Socialist organization looked for opportunities to spread the Socialism, Washington State was selected as the site of the colony, chosen because of its history of labor activism and a smaller population that would be sympathetic to the cause. Thus was born the town/colony of Brotherhood, a name that was soon surrendered for the commonly used, Burley. Plagued with troubles from the onset, the colony lasted only 15 years. This is story of a community that has survived, not so much physically, but in spirit, a spirit that still holds this small community together today. That spirit can be seen in the words of Barbara Laxson who is a longtime resident who lives in one of the original homes built by the colony where an oral history was recorded. It can also be heard in the words of Maria Moore, an American citizen born in Mexico who lives now in Burley. Mrs. Moore, is a former member of the Burley Community Association the group that is charged with maintaining the community properties, her interview was conducted in the community park. In their words you can begin to understand why it is so important to try to keep and keep the history and the name Burley alive today.
- Subjects:
- Tacoma Kitsap County Businesspeople Civic leaders Labor unions Religious life and customs 19th century 20th century Social aspects Strikes and lockouts Government Politics Activists
- Location:
- Kitsap County
- Latitude:
- 47.56378246
- Longitude:
- -122.6285259
- Source:
- Tacoma Community History Project
- Type:
- record
- Format:
- compound_object
Source
- Preferred Citation:
- "The Burley Community: Preserving the Past", Tacoma Community History Project, University of Washington Tacoma Library
- Reference Link:
- https://erika-b.github.io/tchp/items/chp201501.html
Rights
- Rights:
- Individuals may use project materials for scholarly or research purposes, according to the provisions of fair use, but reproducing, publishing, or broadcasting any oral history project materials requires permission. For more information, see http://content.lib.washington.edu/tacomacommweb/using-projects.html
- Standardized Rights:
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/