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Ora Labora: Michigan’s Lost Colony on Wild Fowl Bay
Season 7
Episode 3
Published 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
In 1863, a group of German Methodist families came to the edge of Wild Fowl Bay near Bay Port, Michigan, with a bold plan. They would build a Christian colony in the wilderness. They called it Ora Labora, meaning “Pray and Work.”
Led by Emil Baur and backed by the Harmony Society of Pennsylvania, the settlers raised cabins, cleared land, built mills, opened a store, created a post office, and tried to form a self-sufficient community during the darkest years of the Civil War.
But faith alone could not overcome debt, labor shortages, hard winters, poor planning, and growing distrust. Within a few years, Ora Labora began to break apart. Then came the fire of 1871, which changed the region forever.
This episode tells the dramatic story of Michigan’s forgotten German colony, the dream that brought families to Huron County, and the reasons their settlement faded into history.A story of faith, work, ambition, and loss on the shore of Wild Fowl Bay.
The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications
Led by Emil Baur and backed by the Harmony Society of Pennsylvania, the settlers raised cabins, cleared land, built mills, opened a store, created a post office, and tried to form a self-sufficient community during the darkest years of the Civil War.
But faith alone could not overcome debt, labor shortages, hard winters, poor planning, and growing distrust. Within a few years, Ora Labora began to break apart. Then came the fire of 1871, which changed the region forever.
This episode tells the dramatic story of Michigan’s forgotten German colony, the dream that brought families to Huron County, and the reasons their settlement faded into history.A story of faith, work, ambition, and loss on the shore of Wild Fowl Bay.
The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications