Frank Sandford

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Frank Sandford

Frank W. Sandford (1862-1948) was the founder and leader of a controversial, apocalyptic Christian cult known as "The Kingdom".

Sandford born in Bowdoinham, Maine in 1862 and graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine in 1886. At Bates, he played baseball and was offered an opportunity to play professional baseball after college. Instead Sandford attended Cobb Divinity School in 1886. Next, Sandford attended Dwight Moody’s College of Colleges (Northfield Mount Hermon School) in 1887 in Northfield, Massachusetts. From 1887 to 1893, Sandford was a Freewill Baptist minister. From 1893 to 1896, he became an independent evangelist. In 1896, Sandford founded the Shiloh community as a Bible school near Durham, Maine. Shiloh had over 600 residents at its peak.

Sandford led several trips around the world on the community's vessel, the Coronet. The Coronet would stop in various ports and pray for the people there. On a trip in 1911, several passengers starved to death and Sandford served seven years in Federal prison for causing the deaths. Upon his release, the Shiloh community largely disbanded in 1920. However, "The Kingdom" still exists today and has hundreds of members around the United States.

Sandford himself continued to lead a small contingent until his death in 1948.