Fruitlands (transcendental center)

Fruitlands
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Farmhouse at Fruitlands (photographed in 2015)
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Location	Harvard, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°30′34″N 71°36′45″W / 42.50944°N 71.61250°W / 42.50944; -71.61250
Built	1843
NRHP reference No.	74001761[1]
Added to NRHP	March 19, 1974

Fruitlands was a utopian agrarian commune established in Harvard, Massachusetts, by Amos Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane in the 1840s, based on transcendentalist principles. An account of its less-than-successful activities can be found in Transcendental Wild Oats by Alcott's daughter Louisa May Alcott.^[2]

Lane purchased what was known as the Wyman farm and its 90 acres (36 ha), which also included a dilapidated house and barn. Residents of Fruitlands ate no animal substances, drank only water, bathed in unheated water and "no artificial light would prolong dark hours or cost them the brightness of morning."^[3] Additionally, property was held communally, and no animal labor was used.

The community was short-lived and lasted only seven months. It was dependent on farming, which turned out to be too difficult. The original farmhouse, along with other historic buildings from the area, is now a part of Fruitlands Museum.