Hsdl. Hsdl. Peoples Temple Collection.
Jonestown FBI Reading Room. The FBI’s Reading Room contains many files of public interest and historical value.
In compliance with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements, some of these records are no longer in the physical possession of the FBI, eliminating the FBI’s capability to re-review and/or re-process this material. Please note, that the information found in these files may no longer reflect the current beliefs, positions, opinions, or policies currently held by the FBI. The image quality contained within this site is subject to the condition of the original documents and original scanning efforts. These older files may contain processing procedures that are not compliant with current FOIA processing standards. All recently scanned images posted to the Reading Room adhere to the NARA 300 DPI standard. Some material contained in this site may contain actions, words, or images of a graphic nature that may be offensive and/or emotionally disturbing.
Drinking Poison: Inside Jonestown. Radio National with Rachael Kohn on Sunday 08/08/1999 Drinking Poison: Inside Jonestown Summary: On November 18, 1978, 913 men, women and children died in a mass murder-suicide (most drinking cyanide-laced punch) orchestrated by the Reverend Jim Jones in his compound in Guyana, South America.
We hear from a survivor of the Jonestown suicide. A full transcript is now available. Details or Transcript: Deborah Layton was a devotee, trusted confidante and high level member of The People's Temple, the church Jim Jones founded. Rachael Kohn: Deborah Layton, welcome to The Spirit of Things. Deborah Layton: Thank you very much for inviting me. Rachael Kohn: Deborah, most people would remember Jonestown as a place where a lot of people died, forced to commit suicide by a deranged cult leader.
Deborah Layton: Correct. Rachael Kohn: How did he manage to garner that support? In the Valley of the Shadow of Death: Guyana After the Jonestown Massacre. The Peoples Temple in Guyana . Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple . WGBH American Experience. Members of the Peoples Temple in Guyana.
Jonestown was meant to be a utopia and, for a while, it was. In 1974, Jim Jones dispatched a few Peoples Temple members to rent more than 3,800 acres of jungle property in Guyana, a former British colony in South America where the population spoke English. Getting to the Jonestown Agricultural Project from the capital, Georgetown, involved 24 hours in rough ocean waters followed by 12 hours upriver to Port Kaituma. From there, travelers bounced over six miles on rutted roads to Jonestown. Clearing the JungleOne stipulation of the lease was a requirement that one fifth of the land be cleared for cultivation.
Paradise Lost? Food and Shelter for A ThousandJonestown housing settlements. “White Nights”Once there, Jones’ worst tendencies resumed unchecked. VCU - Jonestown Profile. 1931 (May 13) James (Jim) Warren Jones was born in Crete, Indiana. 1954 Jim Jones founded Community Unity Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. 1956 Peoples Temple, the renamed Wings of Deliverance (first incorporated 1955), opened in Indianapolis. 1960 People Temple officially became a member of The Disciples of Christ (Christian Church) denomination. 1962-62 Jim Jones and family lived in Brazil. 1965 (July) Jones, his family, and 80 members of his interracial congregation moved to Redwood Valley, California. 1972 Peoples Temple purchased church buildings in Los Angeles (September) and San Francisco (December). 1974 (Winter) Peoples Temple pioneers began clearing land in the Northwest District of Guyana, South America to develop the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project. 1975 (December) Al and Jeannie Mills, Peoples Temple apostates, founded the Human Freedom Center. 1977 (Summer) Approximately 1,000 Peoples Temple members moved to Jonestown in a three-month period. 1987:4).
Ministry. Jonestownforum.dk. Remembering Jonestown. Society, Volume 16, Number 6. T & F Online.