With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s start with the bare facts. The story of this cult starts with a man named John Ench. A graduate from the Rolla School of Mines in Missouri with a PhD in atomic physics and a twelve-year tenure as an officer in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the scientifically-minded Ench was an unlikely candidate for the leader of a cult. But while working as a powerplant manager in the 1960s he had an apocalyptic vision that lasted for ten days in which he saw a “destroying force that would corrupt the youth” and was instructed to build a camp to stop this corruption.
The observatory for Act I of the play.
Telescope mount inside the observatory.
Main dome of the observatory.
Ench started the Life Engineering Foundation in 1970 based on a set of unusually secular beliefs. He preached something he called the “One Life Philosophy”, which stated that a person is the sum total of all the information they’ve ever learned and that they can “edit their programming” to free themselves from negative emotions. He also preached scientific knowledge as a means to self-enlightenment and “elevating your consciousness”. From what summaries are publicly available, Ench’s teachings seem remarkably similar to modern cognitive behavioral therapy techniques wrapped in philosophy. These ideas were quite progressive when compared to contemporary psychology in the 1970s, which was still grappling with the horrors of the asylum system.
Though Ench wrote a book detailing his philosophy, he also acquired a property in Bridgewater, Iowa where he built a compound named “Camp EOWATA” to help demonstrate his teachings. It’s unclear where the name came from but Camp EOWATA wasn’t so much a traditional cult compound as it was a giant outdoor classroom. The camp was designed around a three act play that new members were guided through as part of their initiation.
The first part was centered around “the universe before Earth,” featuring an observatory and a giant dome decorated inside to look like a galaxy. Initiates would then be brought to the second part of the play, “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, which featured concrete replicas of natural features such as Devil’s Tower National Monument, Old Faithful, Niagara Falls, and a volcano. In this section new members would enter through an artificial crystal-filled cave into an underground passage that eventually led to a second dome made to resemble the Earth’s core (though I was unable to find the entrance to this passage). The third and final act of the play was about “the appearance of life on Earth” and included a ride on a replica steamboat up a canal to botanical garden filled with standing stone sculptures and fountains.
Inside the Galaxy Dome from Act I.
The basement of the galaxy dome contained this weird spiraling hallway that cycled through green, blue, pink, and yellow sections as it approached a small crouching-height room at the center.
Exterior of the Galaxy Dome.
After the conclusion of the third act, initiates would be brought to the main part of the compound which included a dining hall, guest lodge, lecture hall, chiropractic clinic, swimming pool, and various athletics facilities. Ench planned to eventually build an aviary, zoo, amphitheater, and a scale replica of the Grand Canyon, but those additions were never completed. Though the Life Engineering Foundation had over 200 members at its peak, Camp EOWATA was more of a weekend retreat than a traditional cult compound. Members would come from out of town, spend a few days taking classes about Ench’s “One Life Philosophy” at the camp, and then return home.
The cult did not make significant efforts to advertise itself and its heyday predated the internet era, so aside from Ench’s book almost all knowledge of the cult was spread through word of mouth. This contributed to long term financial problems as most of the cult’s income came from charging new members a fee for the classes and they just weren’t bringing in enough initiates to cover expenses. Ench died in 1999 and leadership of the Life Engineering Foundation passed to a cult member named Deb Corbette. She temporarily closed Camp EOWATA in 2005 to archive Ench’s teachings and update the camp for modern audiences, but it never reopened.
Scale model of Devil's Tower National Monument from Act II.
The artificial cave that supposedly contained an entrance to the underground passage leading to the Earth Core dome. It just seemed to go back a few feet before hitting a dead end, so the entrance must be hidden in some way.
Sometime around 2021 most of the compound was demolished, though the set of the three-act play remains standing along with the house in which Corbette currently lives. When I explored Camp EOWATA I ended up bushwacking through the woods just past dusk until I broke through into a clearing with owed grass. I realized I was standing on Deb Corbette’s yard and could see someone cooking dinner through the kitchen window, so I slunk away back into the woods without being noticed and ended up getting followed down the road by a bunch of wildlife (deer, racoons, other creatures) all the way back to my car. Very spooky vibes.
Now that we’ve gotten the facts out of the way, let’s discuss the juicy rumors. I’ve managed to narrow my search down to four main sources, so this next part is going to be a literature review about the less substantiated claims and reliability of each source.
The Earth Core dome and artificial volcano from Act II.
Interior of the Earth Core dome. I got this pic by prying off maintenance panel and sticking my phone through the hole into the interior, so I wasn't actually able to find a way into this.
Forgotten Iowa / Lost Photographer
This spot was documented on UER and Facebook by Lost Photographer AKA Forgotten Iowa, an urban explorer in the late 2010s who seems to have has stepped away from the illegal parts of the hobby in recent years to try and go legitimate. Though much of their information seems accurate, their writeup also makes claims of “armed guards” and ties to the Johnny Gosche cold case without providing any sources for these claims so it's hard to verify them.
The Gosche Case is one of the most infamous disappearances in true crime circles. In 1982 a young paperboy named Johnny Gosche disappeared from Des Moines, Iowa while delivering newspapers. His was the first of several similar disappearances soon after, and he was the first missing person whose face was printed on milk cartons. Gosche was never found and investigations by the FBI, conspiracy theorists, and true crime enthusiasts over the last four decades have proposed the involvement of just about every conspiracy, urban legend, and oddity within a two-state radius of Iowa. I was unable to find any original sources regarding the potential involvement of Camp EOWATA and trying to dig too much just led to an infinitely deep rabbit hole of wild speculation and conspiracy theories with no clear answers at the bottom. (@Lost Photographer if you're reading this, it isn't meant as an attack and I'd love to be corrected if you do have sources).
Reddit user u/DoorsScareMe
Next we have a Reddit user who claims to be the great granddaughter of John Ench. Much of her information on John Ench’s pre-cult life passes cross-examination with Source #4, but she also claims that Ench was part of a different unnamed cult earlier in his life and founded Camp EOWATA with his secretary after locking his wife in an asylum when she discovered their affair. While those claims are certainly plausible, Reddit comments with no form of verification or citation aren’t reliable.
Iowa Underground- Greg Brick, 2004
A guidebook by Greg Brick about roadside attractions in Iowa. I know a lot of folks in the urbex community have strong feelings about Greg Brick, but his chapter on Camp IOWATA offers the most detailed account of the three-act play and overall layout of the cult compound provided by any source so I must cite it here. Whether you believe information published by Greg Brick is a can of worms I’ll let each reader open on their own.
Life and Consciousness- John Ench, 2000 (Amazon page)
The book that John Ench published about his “One Life Philosophy”. The excerpts from the Amazon page provide information that supports the validity of Source #2, but I was unable to get my hands on an actual copy of the book. According to the Interlibrary Loan System there isn’t a single public library in the United States that has a copy and buying it would cost me about $90 that I’m not willing to spend.
The meditation pond, standing stones, and overgrown garden from Act III. I couldn't find any trace of the steamboat that was supposedly part of this section.
A third dome in the Act III section. Not sure what it was used for, it was empty aside from folding chairs and construction materials when I opened it up.
The front gate to the camp. This leads directly to the non-abandoned section so don't go in this way.
All other online sources about this cult seem to parrot these four, making them the closest thing to a reliable original source I’ve found. Research into the Life Engineering Foundation is made more difficult by an “unschooling” philosophy organization by the same name in India which muddies the search results. We may never know if the wilder claims about Camp EOWATA were ever true but it’s still a unique location well worth a visit.
