Shalam Colony, 1884-1901

Newbrough was a dentist who said angels had dictated his new Bible, Oahspe, through his typewriter. A Boston wool merchant, Andrew Howland, paid for the land, and in late October 1884 about twenty Faithists pitched tents by the river. The colony survived its first year because of its neighbors: some 250 people from Doña Ana made the adobes, showed the vegetarian colonists how to cook beans and chile, and helped build sixteen miles of pipe and a reservoir. About fifty orphans were raised there. Newbrough died of influenza in 1891.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Shalam Colony, 1884-1901 In 1884, Shalam Colony was established on the banks of the Rio Grande near the village of Doña Ana by John Ballou Newbrough and a group of Utopian followers called Faithists. Newbrough's "Book of Shalam" set forth a plan for gathering the outcast and orphaned children of the world and raising them to be the spiritual leaders of a new age. Shalam Colony was closed in 1901.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Mesilla Plaza — 8.1 mi
  A plaza laid out in 1848 by people who meant to stay in Mexico, American six years later, a stage stop and Civil War headquarters, and scene of a deadly political riot in 1871.

More markers nearby

• Bartlett Garcia Continental Survey Point — 0.9 mi
• Doña Ana — 0.9 mi
• Doña Ana (1604-1680) — 1.9 mi
• Rio Grande — 5.1 mi