Relics of Utopian on display in Lake Co.

Utopia.

"Any ideal place or state. Any visionary system of political or social perfection."

The dictionary definition certainly isn't describing the state of our nation these days. It's describing an impossible situation, really. But that hasn't stopped people from trying to get heaven on earth. It happened in Lake County.

John Alexander Dowie, the short, stout Scottish preacher brought his faith healing ministry to northern Illinois in 1901. Claiming to be a reincarnation of the fiery Old Testament prophet Elijah, he established Zion City. Halfway between Milwaukee and Chicago, Dowie set out to establish a community free from what he saw as the moral filth prevalent in those days.

With thousands of followers and hundreds of thousands of dollars, he purchased 6,000 acres, "halfway between beer and Babel," as he was known to say.

Intent on clean living and prosperous industry, he imposed a strict moral code on the townspeople. No smoking, no drinking, no dancing, no swearing. But Dowie was progressive too. He advocated for racial equality, free education and an eight-hour workday. Just don't stop for beer on the way home.

He never predicted he would rise from the dead, but you can see a life-size sculpture of him at the Lake County Discovery Museum near Wauconda. Behind the imposing figure are artifacts from his failed utopia. Metal leg braces no longer needed by disabled child healed through prayer. Dowie's personal chair from taken from his 25-room mansion. Metal canisters that once held "Zion Hard Candies." There also are dozens of historical photos of folks apparently enjoying a life free from the moral vice that gripped all other cities.

Dowie made a series of bad investments and financial blunders that eventually extinguished the utopian vision.

But if you stop long enough and look into Dowie's drooping but penetrating eyes, you can almost hear him say, "No one except a low down scoundrel, a person lower than the dirtiest dog, yes lower down than a skunk, would chew or smoke tobacco in Zion City."