The first neighbourhood outside Jaffa's city walls, the American Colony was established by a group of American Christians in the 1860s. The story of their star-crossed (some would say hare-brained) settlement scheme is told at the engaging Maine Friendship House museum. The colony area, run-down but charming, is centred on the corner of Auerbach and Be'er Hoffman Sts,1km northeast of Jaffa's old city.
In 1866 157 men, women and children, led by an eccentric and charismatic preacher (and excommunicated Mormon) named George J Adams, set sail from Jonesboro, Maine, on the three-masted clipper Nellie Chapin . In the hold were 22 prefabricated wooden houses and the latest in agricultural implements. Their destination: the Holy Land, where they hoped to make preparations for the return of the Jews. The entire enterprise collapsed in short order, the result of disease, dissension and drinking (Adams'), and by 1868 only 20 settlers remained; most of the real estate in the American Colony was sold to the German Templers the following year. Today, some of the old houses are still standing, as is the Templers' Immanuel Church , now Lutheran, whose fine organ is used for concerts.
