calsfoundation@cals.org
September 29, 1975
A group of about twenty-five people in Grannis (Polk County), most of them related to one another, closed themselves off from the rest of the world in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ. The ensuing ten-month vigil attracted national attention and sparked debate on the separation of church and state and the right of religious expression. What came to be known as the Grannis Vigil ended on July 16, 1976, when federal marshals, acting on a court-ordered eviction notice, forcibly removed the families from their homes.