FOUND AT LAST: GARDEN OF EDEN
Offered Value: $5.00
Rev. V.O. Van Slyke makes a compelling case that the Garden of Eden was located in the upper Mississippi River valley near Trempealeau, Wisconsin.
With Biblical analysis and vivid descriptions of the region’s geography and beauty, Van Slyke argues this locale matches the Biblical account better than anywhere else. It’s 10 miles across at the center, tapering to five miles at each end. It even has a wall: the craggy bluffs of the state’s driftless region.
Description
Description
In “Found at Last: The Garden of Eden,” Rev. V.O. Van Slyke boldly asserts that the original paradise was located in the upper Mississippi River valley between La Crosse, Wisconsin and Winona, Minnesota. Drawing extensively from the Book of Genesis, Van Slyke methodically demonstrates how the area’s majestic bluffs, fertile plains, and four intersecting rivers precisely match the Bible’s description of Eden.
With infectious passion, he depicts the unrivaled beauty of the “hanging garden” bluffs and surrounding “American Palestine.” Van Slyke’s work is a fascinating blend of scriptural exegesis, geological musings, and travelogue sure to engage any reader interested in the Garden of Eden’s location.
David Oyer Van Slyke (1818-1890) was an itinerant minister, a “circuit rider,” in western Wisconsin. He was also a fervent abolitionist who marched off to the Civil War at the age of 44 alongside his 17-year-old son. Although apparently not formally ordained, Van Slyke read the Bible from cover to cover more than 20 times and preached wherever a group of believers wanted him.
He became convinced that the Garden of Eden as described in the Book of Genesis had in fact been located at Trempealeau, Wis. He makes that claim in this tiny (ca. 3×5 inch) pamphlet which he published himself in 1886. It was printed on very poor paper and most copies vanished long ago. SOURCE