EstablishedCLM-0143 · checked 2026-10-23
Cabet's novel Voyage en Icarie (1840) set out his communist ideal; in 1848–49 he and followers began colonies in the United States, first in Texas and then at Nauvoo, Illinois.[1][2]
Closed / failedDirect democracy
Icarian communities (Étienne Cabet)
Communist colonies founded from 1848 by followers of Étienne Cabet, author of Voyage en Icarie, in Texas, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and California. The last, near Corning, Iowa, dissolved by agreement in 1898.
40.55° N · 91.38° W · Nauvoo, Illinois, the main colony. Other sites: Denton County, Texas (1848); Cheltenham, Missouri; near Corning, Iowa; near Cloverdale, California
- Location
- Nauvoo, Illinois, the main colony. Other sites: Denton County, Texas (1848); Cheltenham, Missouri; near Corning, Iowa; near Cloverdale, California
- Operating since
- 1848
- Governance
- Direct democracy
- Legal status
- Recognised
- Economy
- Commons / communal
- Autonomy level
- Program within an existing state
- Uses AI in governance
- No
Étienne Cabet, a French lawyer and politician exiled in England, set out his ideal community in the novel Voyage en Icarie (1840). In 1848 an advance party of 69 sailed for Texas, where the land proved unsuitable and the venture collapsed within the year. About 280 settlers led by Cabet bought the former Mormon town of Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1849. The constitution provided for an annually elected president and directors, and majority rule by adult members. A dispute over Cabet's authority split the colony in 1856 and he died in St Louis that year. The Nauvoo colony disbanded in 1860. Branches survived near Corning, Iowa, from 1852 and later at Cloverdale, California; they split into older and younger groups in the 1870s.
Timeline
- 1840Cabet publishes the novel Voyage en Icarie, describing a communist ideal society. [S1]Established
- Feb 1848An advance party of 69 leaves Le Havre for Texas; the colony there is abandoned within the year. [S2]Established
- 1849Cabet leads about 280 settlers to Nauvoo, Illinois, the former Mormon town, to start Icaria. [S1]Established
- 1852Icarians buy land in Adams County, Iowa, for a second colony. [S5]Established
- 1856Dissension over Cabet's authority splits Nauvoo; he leaves for St Louis and dies there on 8 November. [S1]Established
- 1860The Nauvoo colony disbands; many members move to Iowa. [S4]Established
- 1878The Corning community is split by a lawsuit into an older branch, New Icaria, and a younger one, Jeune Icarie. [S5]Established
- 1898New Icaria, the last Icarian community, dissolves by agreement of its remaining members. [S5]Established
Mechanisms in use
Outcomes & controversies
Several colonies over about fifty years, with schools, workshops, a library and theatre at Nauvoo. The Iowa settlements near Corning lasted from 1852 until 1898, the longest-lived of the Icarian communities.
Post-mortem
The Texas land scheme failed within months. At Nauvoo, members rejected Cabet's bid for stronger personal authority, and debts and departures ended the colony in 1860. Later splits, including over women's suffrage and private property, led to a court-ordered division at Corning in 1878; the last community dissolved by agreement in 1898.
Claims
EstablishedCLM-0144 · checked 2026-10-23
Icarian governance combined elected officers with majority rule: an annually elected president and directors for departments, and at Corning weekly meetings of all adults.[1][2]
EstablishedCLM-0145 · checked 2026-10-23
Conflict over Cabet's authority split the Nauvoo colony in 1856, and he died in St Louis that November; the Nauvoo colony disbanded in 1860.[1][2]
DisputedCLM-0146 · checked 2026-10-23
Sources disagree on when the last Icarian communities ended: scholarly accounts date New Icaria near Corning to 1898 and Icaria Speranza in California to 1886, whereas Britannica's Cabet entry gives 1884 for Corning and 1895 for Cloverdale.[1][2][3]