JEN HATHAWAY
Today , eight Shaker sites offer full access to the public ( designated in green ). These former communities , now living museums with buildings , farms , and outdoor trails , educate and inspire meaningful approaches to today ’ s challenging issues . Most are listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Although some sites allow visitors to walk the grounds year-round , all are seasonal and reopen in the spring . Seven Shaker villages ( marked in gray ) have been dismantled to various degrees . Some offer gardens and trails and a Shaker building or two , some are being preserved , and some offer a historical museum with Shaker artifacts . Despite no guided tours and not as much to see , they are important in Shaker history . Four Shaker sites ( labeled in blue ) are either privately owned or have been destroyed , identified by markers that help us to remember .
19
IN
7 8
MI
TN
18
KY
OH
14 13 12
WV
PA
VA
NC
NY
VT
DE MD
NH MA
11
CT17
in 1947 . Other sites are now being used for different purposes , but all are aligned to some degree with Shaker values and design .
Hoping to get a sense of the transformation , I drove up Mount Lebanon , past Darrow School and various Shaker buildings dotting the road . The views were breathtaking , and a feeling of peace settled in . I came to a group of buildings at the end of Darrow Road — The Abode of the Message — a retreat center founded on former South Family land in 1975 . Several people stopped to ask if I needed help as I stood next to my car taking in the vista . I walked to the dining hall , poured myself a cup of tea , and waited for Executive Director Kim Martel .
“ The Abode began in the Sufi tradition , a mystical religion that seeks to find truth through personal experience of God ,” says Martel . “ In October , leadership changed , and we are no longer associated with one group , but continue to provide sanctuary in harmony with nature . More and more people come every year to the mountain to walk and hike , to find solace .”
Martel points to the building ’ s separate staircases for men and women built by the Shakers back in the day , and the Shaker Bell , which the Abode uses to call people together for meals , births , and emergencies . She pulls the chord , and we hear a low , “ Gong !”
We walked out to the heated patio , where we saw two buildings nearby that stood close to each other and were connected by a
6 5
10 2
RI wooden walkway on the second floor . Men would build the chair frames and leave them on the balcony . Women would take the chairs and weave the seats — separate but equal . As the mother of six daughters , Martel doesn ’ t advocate celibacy but is passionate about gender equality and offering a place of solace . She points out a small white house up the hill , surrounded by nature , where Mother Ann lived . Down the road from the Abode is The Ruins at Sassafras on former Second Family property .
Although gender equality and Mother Ann ’ s three Cs are intriguing aspects of Shaker life , there is more to it . Shaker scholar and author Fran Kramer says that enduring values are why Shaker life resonates today . “ That ’ s what they gave us . You are kind . You are helpful . They took in battered women , those who couldn ’ t subsist for whatever reasons , and children . If you had ten kids and you couldn ’ t take care of them , the Shakers would bring them up . They gave people a place to sleep , food , and companionship . People were obviously looking for something , and the Shakers offered it .”
Kramer , who lives in upstate New York , discovered the Shakers in the ’ 70s at Hancock and joined a Shaker study group based at Berkshire Community College . She has been involved in Shaker activities all over the country , organizing Shaker events , connecting Shaker enthusiasts , keeping Shaker traditions alive . When she discovered that the Groveland Shaker site in upstate New York was slated to become a prison , she convinced then-Governor Mario Cuomo to preserve the exterior of the Shaker buildings , install signage , and allow limited access to the property .
Hancock Shaker Village Executive Director Carrie Holland notes that Kramer is a force with longtime connections to many Shaker villages and will be at Hancock during the 250th celebrations in May .
Despite the utopian label , Shakers were not perfect . The Great Divorce by Ilyon Woo is the story of a young mother ’ s battle to win back her children who were kidnapped by the Shakers . The Visionist by Rachel Urquhart , who lives in one of the former Tyringham Shaker buildings , tells of a young teenage girl with a secret who flees to Hancock Shaker Village looking for refuge but finds something else . What would Mother Ann think of all this ? Shaker sites transformed into museums , schools , wedding venues , and prisons ? Shops selling items that Shakers invented and inspired ? Hard to say , but chances are she ’ d love that the Shakers are still being talked about in 2024 , celebrating a legacy that includes strong women willing to stand up for what they believe in .
Amid specific celebrations being planned by various Shaker communities , Hancock Shaker Village has kicked the idea up a notch , declaring 2024 The Year of the Woman — not just Mother Ann , not just Shaker Sisters , not just Berkshire women , but all women . Curator Kathleen Lynch is using every corner of the village for exhibits that showcase the work of women artists , leaders , and inventors . The exhibits run from April 13 to August 31 . ■
ME
SITES WITH PUBLIC ACCESS SITES WITH LIMITED PUBLIC ACCESS PRIVATE OR DESTROYED SITES
1 . Shaker Heritage Society , Watervliet , NY 2 . Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village ,
New Gloucester , ME 3 . Historic Mount Lebanon Site and Shaker
Museum , Mt . Lebanon and Chatham , NY 4 . Hancock Shaker Village , Hancock , MA 5 . Canterbury Shaker Village ,
Canterbury , NH 6 . Enfield Shaker Museum ,
Enfield , NH 7 . Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill ,
Pleasant Hill , KY 8 . Shaker Village at South Union ,
South Union , KY
9 . Harvard Shaker Village , Harvard , MA
10 . Alfred Shaker Museum , Alfred , ME
11 . Shirley Shaker Village , Shirley , MA
12 . Warren County Historical Society , Union Village , OH
13 . The Shaker Historical Museum , North Union , OH
14 . White Water Shaker Village , White Water , OH
15 . Groveland , NY
16 . Tyringham , MA 17 . Enfield , CT 18 . Watervliet , OH 19 . West Union , IN
9
42 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE Spring 2024