In the late 1800s, several new communities were established whose charters included a prohibition on alcoholic beverages.  These were sponsored by prominent Americans and were successful until they were declared to be unconstitutional limitations on private property rights (in much the same way that later all-White communities were declared illegal because of their restrictive covenants on race).

     Some of the more prominent towns were Harriman, Tennessee (sponsored by John Fisk);  Prohibition Park on Staten Island, New York; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Demorest, Georgia (1889, sponsored by Nell and William Demorest).

Pulliam, W.T. (1978) — Harriman, the Town that Temperance Built: 706pp, Harriman, privately printed.

  Demorest, Georgia

Demorest, Georgia was incorporated on 13 Nov 89 as a dry community.  “In 1889, a group of people from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Indiana moved to Georgia to found a community which would have high moral standards.  They decided that anyone who permitted drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, or prostitution would forfeit their property.  [William Jennings] Demorest formed the Demorest Home, Mining, and Improvement Company to make that dream a reality.  On November 13th, 1889 the town was incorporated and named “Demorest” in honor of the great Prohibition leader.”—Dec’03 National Statesman, p.4.

Temperance, Michigan

Temperance, Michigan was named by two of its earliest settlers, Lewis and Martha Ansted. The Ansteds wrote restrictions into the deeds for all of the property they owned, specifying that alcohol could never be sold there.  Other early settlers followed their lead.  The restrictions lasted about 100 years, then were repealed on the initiative of a local businesswoman.  National Statesman, Feb'74.