Archivist David Kohrman will close out the Spring Lecture Series at the Dowagiac History Museum at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday with his program, “Baseball, Amusement Parks and Faith: A History of the Israelite House of David.”

Benjamin and Sarah Purnell moved to the Benton Harbor area in 1903 to set up a religious colony called the Israelite House of David. They quickly had several hundred followers living on the vast property and the group grew over the next decades.

The House of David went on to found a barnstorming baseball team and build an amusement park and zoo on the grounds. These ventures helped spread the House of David’s practice, brought local residents and visitors to the site and earned money for the colony.

Though controversy split the group into two factions, the Israelite House of David remained active into the mid-1900s.

David Korhman is a PhD candidate in history at Western Michigan University. He has worked as the archivist at the House of David for two years.

The program will examine the colony’s faith, history, business enterprises and current status through rare images from the colony’s archives.

The programs are free for museum members to attend and cost $5 to nonmembers. Children under 18 years of age are also admitted for free. Membership will be available at the museum for those interested.

The museum is located at the corner of Division and West Railroad streets. For more information, call the Dowagiac Area History Museum at (269) 783-2560 or visit dowagiacmuseum.info.