Officially beginning on 14 March, 1930, Mary Purnell reorganized the Israelite House of David in a humble fashion on newly acquired properties along Britain and Eastman Avenues, including four agricultural properties and an unfinished, vacant hotel building, and these parcels began a chapter of Christian–Israelite history marked by building and economic success at the outset of the Great Depression. By 1937, she had successfully directed construction of most of the 80-some buildings while adding several hundred acres to her original lots along Eastman Avenue at Britain, now the heart of the historic district of Mary’s City of David. Her success rested not only on administrative skill, but also on her rise as the voice of the Christian–Israelite movement, dating back to the Philadelphian Society of 1652, through continuing publications that established her authority and attracted many new members from an international following. During its years of economic presence in southwest Michigan, Mary’s City of David owned and operated several of Berrien County’s largest farms, helping bolster the Benton Harbor open-air fruit market as it became the nation’s largest cash-to-grower market. Its baseball team became the most celebrated of all the House of David ball clubs, carrying on a tradition of professional excellence through the 1956 season. It also welcomed and hosted a summer-season Jewish resort from 1930 through the mid 1960s that included the Gate of Prayer Synagogue and the adjoining Rabbi’s house. In 1934, Mary’s City of David built and operated a bakery and resort vegetarian restaurant, along with a vegetarian cookbook, that successfully served resort guests and the area into the mid 1960s. Property restoration began in 1991, and a museum and tours programme was initiated in 1997 in response to requests from two area historical organizations and the southwest Michigan Tourist Council. The coordination of restoration work and the museum attraction enhanced both the success and preservation of the Israelite community, which is now recognized by the Department of the Interior and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in America.