PRESERVATION: Shaker Roots

The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, commonly called the Shakers, was founded in England in 1747. Eight Shakers followed Mother Ann Lee to the United States in 1774, fleeing religious persecution. They purchased property and established their first community near Watervliet, New York. The community in New Lebanon, New York, was the second established, and Hancock, Massachusetts, the third. At its peak in the mid-nineteenth century, the group had as many as five thousand members living in nineteen communities. The group slowly began to lose membership after the Civil War; the Hancock community closed in 1960.

 

    The Millennial Laws, a set of religious rules written down in 1821 describing Shaker theology and proper Shaker conduct, were intended to create uniformity in the various Shaker communities.

 

    The Shakers practiced celibacy, lived in communal groups, and were known for the excellence of their craftsmanship. They invented, among other useful items, the metal pen nib, the flat broom, and the circular saw. [SEPTEMBER 2009]

 

THE GOODS

Hancock Shaker Village
Route 20
Pittsfield, Mass.

www.hancockshakervillage.org

Charles L. Flint Antiques
.
Lenox, Mass.

www.flint.cc