The Secret Cult in Rockford, Illinois History You’ve Probably Never Heard About

I have lived in the Rockford, Illinois area for my entire life, and I have learned a lot of weird and wild things about this city over the years. However, today was the first time I'd ever heard about a weird 'Heaven' cult that used to call Rockford home.

Rockford's 'Heaven' Cult

Honestly, I was stunned to learn that back in the late 1800s Rockford was home to a cult called 'Heaven' that was led by a man who claimed to be Jesus Christ himself.  Confused? Yeah, me too.

Here's the Rockford Rocked post that threw me down a wacky history rabbit hole:

What the heck are Beekmanites? Let's just say my quest to find the answer delivered way more weirdness that I ever could have expected.

Where Was "Heaven" Located in Rockford?

I first came upon an article called Illinois Jesus that says in Rockford there was once a:

 large complex of buildings painted red bore the name Weldon Farm, but once it had been called Heaven. In the 1880s it had been the center of an obscure religious sect called the Beekmanites. A woman named Dorinda Beekman had declared herself to be Jesus, as one did in those days; she died after promising to rise from the dead in three days. Her considerable followers were disappointed until one of them, a red-headed man named George Jacob Schweinfurth, neatly solved the problem by explaining that her spirit had moved into his body. Many agreed; he and his followers, the Church Triumphant, moved into Heaven and lived communally.

This is what "Heaven" located on S Weldon Road in Rockford looks like today:

The man who wrote the Illinois Jesus article, Dan Videl, used to live on the farm on Weldon Rd where "Heaven" was once located in the 1980s, and he said a block away from "Heaven" there was another house that back in Schweinfurth's day was called "Hell" and that "members of the group who’d fallen out of favor, were sent to Hell, where the work needed to keep the sect fed was done."

Schweinfurth's Church Triumphant was rumored to be responsible for many un-Christian acts in the Midwest over the years, but how it reportedly came to an end is the most disturbing part.

Visel's article says:

The end of the Church Triumphant is predictable. The Angels started bearing children; this was declared to be a miracle, their fathers being the Holy Ghost, but the locals noticed that many were suspiciously red-haired. After too many Holy Ghost Children, Schweinfurth was arrested and driven from town.

Wow.

If you want to read more about the Beekmanites and Church Triumphant members, check out this article, it's pretty wild.