Isadore Haines was born in Fort Fairfield on January 27, 1848, the youngest daughter of Joseph Wingate and Mary Briggs Haines. At the age of 48, she left The County for Durham, Maine, after meeting the Charismatic Reverend Frank W. Sandford (1862-1948) at a tent revival. 

While we don’t have many records on Isadore herself, we do have a lot of information about the community she joined and subsequently helped build. Isadore, or Izzy, was among the first seventy members of Sanford’s movement, known as The Movement, and became a respected elder in the community in the years to come. 

Frank Sandford was the tenth child born to a farming family in Bowdoinham, Maine in 1862. Described by those who knew him as a natural leader. Sandford’s religious path began by him reluctantly attending a revival meeting at his mother's Free Will Baptist church. Soon thereafter he was converted on February 29, 1880. He was then accepted to Bates College on a general scholarship, where he was elected class president. He also served as both coach and catcher of the baseball team. He graduated in 1886 with honors and given his natural leadership skills and knack for public speaking, he was chosen to give a commencement address. For one summer, Sandford captained a semi-pro baseball team and was even approached by professional scouts. But, after a teammate ridiculed him for attending church during Maine's Fast Day (a day of public fasting and prayer) he hung up his glove and returned to Bates to attend Cobb Divinity School.

Sandford never finished Seminary and instead was called to pastor the Free Will Baptist church in Topsham, Maine. He was described as energetic and fervent, and within three years his revivals resulted in three hundred conversions and more than a hundred baptisms.The pastor also led the Topsham schools and organized sports programs for local children and mill workers. 

No denying he was a prominent figure in the community. He was a popular preacher, and as his reputation as well as interest for his services grew, he wanted to make the most of his momentum. In August 1891, after performing an exorcism and claiming to hear the voice of God warn him of "Armageddon", he established a commune called the "Shiloh" in Durham, Maine. 

Soon after the commune was established, the Reverend set his sights to start a Bible School to help spread his specific brand of teachings. However, Frank Sanford was a man of God and not means, the money to make his vision a reality was not something he had on his own, but his many converts did. 

In March 1896, Reverend Sanford's vision started to come to fruition because of the generous donation by a local farmer and convert of Sanford’s. Douglas gifted a barren sand hill behind his farm to begin Shilohs expansion.

Starting with just six men, and only one experienced builder in the bunch. The Reverend and his followers performed what some could call a miraculous feat. During the summer and fall of 1896, Sandford and his crew constructed a twenty-seven room structure, including an impressive tower. The tower was named "Jerusalem Tower" and rose 7 stories above the ground..

On January 23, 1897, Frank Sanford and his wife, another minister and his wife, and about 34 students moved into Shiloh, The Holy Ghost and Us Bible School.

As word spread, more believers came to join the movement. The more people came, the more buildings sprung up on the hill to support the growing population of “Sandfordites.” Eventually, over 500 families would come and join the community and the growing movement. A quadrangle was formed by these new buildings. The "Jerusalem Tower" was at the head and the shorter “David’s Tower” was across the quadrangle. It was 260 feet long, 40 feet wide, and three stories high. It was said to be the world's largest Bible school building. Other notable structures on the campus included Bethesda, a hospital for faith healing built in 1898, and Olivet, a Children’s Building built in 1903. It was a fully functioning micro community with tin smiths, carpenters, and blacksmiths along with a post office, bakery, a print shop and a school for 200 children. 

“The complex looked so impressive that aviator Charles Lindbergh flew over it during his tour of the United States after his famous solo flight to Paris in 1927 and reportedly thought Shiloh was the state Capitol in Augusta” – Lewiston Sun Journal

This rapid growth was mostly made possible by the steady stream of new followers, who eagerly would sell their properties and donate all their money to Shiloh. Having left their “worldly connections” behind, converts were "free" to worship, work, and live full-time within the community sans any distractions from the secular world.

The Reverend was no longer building just a Bible school, but he had a round the clock prayer center for evangelism. A training center for missionaries who would follow Sanford to the ends of the world to share the Gospel. A Holy home base for those lucky enough to believe.

Many of the men in the community actively farmed and cut wood. Potatoes alone, for example, occupied 27 acres of land. A livestock census taken in 1906 at Shiloh listed the community's animals: 50 horses and mules, 81 cattle, 81 sheep, 32 goats, and 586 fowl, giving them 12,000 eggs a year. Despite the many resources, nothing was sold. Everything was used to support the community. At its peak, Shilo was 1,470 acres (over two square miles) and accounted for the majority of the town's taxes.

Shortly after 1900, while Revered Sanford and his movement were gaining numbers, they were also raising eyebrows with the local authorities. Reports of strict rules and harsh punishments for parishioners were reaching the outside world. Outsiders grew concerned about the power Sandford had over so many people. He was claiming to be the Prophet Elijah and his followers believed him fully. If they didn't, they risked repercussions or worse, abandonment. In time, he announced other biblical roles as well, giving him more leverage to assert his authority over his faithful followers.

According to a Portland Press Herald article, the Durham Historical Society refers to the Shilo Chapel of the early 1900’s as “a home for a secretive apocalyptic Christian cult," which was very “secretive” and “unconventional.”

In the early 1900s, Sandford led several followers on a round-the-world voyage on a racing yacht named Coronet. This trip would prove to be a fatal error for Sanford in more ways than one. In 1911, he was arrested on manslaughter charges. A voyage to Greenland aboard Coronet ended with six of the crew members dying from scurvy. This was considered preventable by local authorities in Maine. When Sanford returned to Maine, he was arrested.    In his absence from Shiloh, Sandford issued directives to his followers from prison.

In 1918, he returned to Shiloh after being released from prison, but Shiloh's glory days were over. In 1920, the Bible School was shut down and Sandford moved to Hobart, NY to spend the remainder of his days.