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Just as the formulation of Baha'i constitutions had provided the foundation for the incorporation of Baha'i Spiritual Assemblies, so did the recognition accorded by local and national authorities to the elected representatives of Baha'i communities pave the way for the establishment of national and local Baha'i endowments-- a historic undertaking which, as had been the case with previous achievements of far- reaching importance, the American Baha'i Community was the first to initiate. In most cases these endowments, owing to their religious character, have been exempted from both government and municipal taxes, as a result of representations made by the incorporated Baha'i bodies to the civil authorities, though the value of the properties thus exempted has, in more than one country, amounted to a considerable sum. (337:1) In the United States of America the national endowments of the Faith, already representing one and three- quarter million dollars of assets, and established through a series of Indentures of Trust, created in 1928, 1929, 1935, 1938, 1939, 1941 and 1942 by the National Spiritual Assembly in that country, acting as Trustees of the American Baha'i Community, now include the land and structure of the Mashriqu'l- Adhkar, and the caretaker's cottage in Wilmette, Ill.; the adjoining Haziratu'l- Quds (Baha'i National Headquarters) and its supplementary administrative office; the Inn, the Fellowship House, the Baha'i Hall, the Arts and Crafts Studio, a farm, a number of cottages, several parcels of land, including the holding on Monsalvat, blessed by the footsteps of Abdu'l- Baha, in Green Acre, in the state of Maine; Bosch House, the Baha'i Hall, a fruit orchard, the Redwood Grove, a dormitory and Ranch Buildings in Geyserville, Calif.; Wilhelm House, Evergreen Cabin, a pine grove and seven lots with buildings at West Englewood, N.J., the scene of the memorable Unity Feast given by Abdu'l- Baha, in June, 1912, to the Baha'is of the New York Metropolitan district; Wilson House, blessed by His presence, and land in Malden, Mass.; Mathews House and Ranch Buildings in Pine Valley, Colo.; land in Muskegon, Mich., and a cemetery lot in Portsmouth, N.H. (337:2) Of even greater importance, and in their aggregate far surpassing in value the national endowments of the American Baha'i community, though their title- deeds are, owing to the inability of the Persian Baha'i community to incorporate its national and local assemblies, held in trust by individuals, are the assets which the Faith now possesses in the land of its origin. To the House of the Bab in Shiraz and the ancestral Home of Baha'u'llah in Takur, Mazindaran, already in the possession of the community in the days of Abdu'l- Baha's ministry, have, since His ascension, been added extensive properties, in the outskirts of the capital, situated on the slopes of Mt. Alburz, overlooking the native city of Baha'u'llah, including a farm, a garden and vineyard, comprising an area of over three million and a half square meters, preserved as the future site of the first Mashriqu'l- Adhkar in Persia. Other acquisitions that have greatly extended the range of Baha'i endowments in that country include the House in which Baha'u'llah was born in Tihran; several buildings adjoining the House of the Bab in Shiraz, including the house owned by His maternal uncle; the Haziratu'l- Quds in Tihran; the shop occupied by the Bab during the years He was a merchant in Bushihr; a quarter of the village of Chihriq, where He was confined; the house of Haji Mirza Jani, where He tarried on His way to Tabriz; the public bath used by Him in Shiraz and some adjacent houses; half of the house owned by Vahid in Nayriz and part of the house owned by Hujjat in Zanjan; the three gardens rented by Baha'u'llah in the hamlet of Badasht; the burial- place of Quddus in Barfurush; the house of Kalantar in Tihran, the scene of Tahirih's confinement; the public bath visited by the Bab when in Urumiyyih, Adhirbayjan; the house owned by Mirza Husayn- 'Aliy- i- Nur, where the Bab's remains had been concealed; the Babiyyih and the house owned by Mulla Husayn in Mashhad; the residence of the Sultanu'sh- Shuhada (King of Martyrs) and of the Mahbubu'sh- Shuhada (Beloved of Martyrs) in Isfahan, as well as a considerable number of sites and houses, including burial- places, associated with the heroes and martyrs of the Faith. These holdings which, with very few exceptions, have been recently acquired in Persia, are now being preserved and yearly augmented, and, whenever necessary, carefully restored, through the assiduous efforts of a specially appointed national committee, acting under the constant and general supervision of the elected representatives of the Persian believers.
(337:3)
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