Jonestown, Guyana

The People's Temple moved around California some, going to San Fransisco and Los Angeles. The group finally setteled in Jonestown, Guyana. 4,000 acres was leased from the government and it was mostly uninhabitable. They farmed, raised animals for consumption and sold what they didn't use from their garden. Most importantly Jim felt free of  societies guidelines and was able to mold the group as he pleased.

Life at Jonestown

The Jonestown group had approximately 910 members. Jim kept each member very busy. The work day on the ranch was eleven hours a day, eight hours on Sunday. The evenings were spent in meetings learning about the forth coming end of the world, which Jim loved to preach about. These people were in isolation from any one else, over worked and given very little food. They slept in dorm style bunks, husbands and wives did not share the same bed. There are reports from defectors that Jim had a growing appetite for drugs. Mixed with his mental illness, this was disastrous.