Blog Articles

Alli Bramel, Collections Specialist Lexington photographer Carol Peachee has photographed Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill for more than four decades ...

Alli Bramel, Collections Specialist National Historic Preservation Month is celebrated in May and recognizes the nation’s heritage through historic places ...

Alli Bramel, Collections Specialist March 29th marks the 102nd anniversary of the passing of Sister Mary Settles, the last Shaker ...

Alli Bramel, Collections Specialist At Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, we are always learning about the people who called Pleasant ...

Melissa Williams, Chief Development Officer The twinkling white lights strung across the Village instill a quiet sense of inner peace ...

Melissa Williams, Chief Development Officer This National Philanthropy Day, we are excited to recognize Gene Carpenter, a dedicated volunteer and ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming & Marketing To think of the stunted and withered childhood of our hot ...

Lucy Dever, Collections Specialist We don’t tend to give the mail a lot of thought these days. With email, cellphones, ...

Lucy Dever, Collections Specialist A Shaker Elder and two Eldresses stand on the side steps of the Trustees’ Office, once ...

Laura Baird, Stewardship Manager Spring is one of the best times on the Preserve at Shaker Village. Our forests suddenly ...

Hannah Williams, Development Coordinator As we shared in the December year in review post, almost a year ago, the nineteenth-century ...

Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator As December draws to a close, it is our tradition to look back at all the ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing Back in May, we introduced you to our plans for Shaker ...

J. Michael Moore, Farm Manager  There is a history of agriculture at Pleasant Hill that is deeply rooted in the ...

Pony Meyer, Program SpecialistLaura Baird, Stewardship Manager Shaker Village boasts 2,000 acres of Nature Preserve full of educational potential. We ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing Excitement and Worry Each time a new exhibit installation takes place ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing Trailhead on the Move When Shaker Village introduced the list of ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing Two months ago we introduced you to a project list proposed ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing Personnel Only One goal of the Long-Range Planning process at Shaker ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing Telling the Story Among the list of 34 projects that has ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing This is the eighth article in an ongoing series outlining long-range ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing This is the seventh article in an ongoing series outlining long-range ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing This is the sixth article in an ongoing series outlining long-range ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing This is the fifth article in an ongoing series outlining long-range ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing This is the fourth article in an ongoing series outlining long-range ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing This is the third article in an ongoing series outlining long-range ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing This is the second in an ongoing series of articles outlining ...

Creating a New Long-Range Plan for Shaker Village Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing For most visitors ...

Jordan Lewis, Interpreter Early Homes In the first decade after the arrival of Shaker missionaries in Mercer County, before the ...

Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager Who was Sister Mary, and why are we trying to find her? A born ...

Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator 2022 has been an incredible year at Shaker Village. There is so much to celebrate and ...

Shannon Timmons, Annual Passholder Program Coordinator As we enter the month of November, many of us turn our thoughts to ...

A few months ago, Shaker Village hosted Little English, a female-led Lexington, Ky. based children’s clothing line, for their fall ...

Shelby Jones, Director of Communications Fall has officially arrived at Shaker Village and we’re celebrating with a full lineup of ...

Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager & Laura Webb, Program Team Coordinator The Shakers, as a religious communal society, were ...

Laura Baird, Stewardship Manager The monarch butterfly is one of the most celebrated insect species in North America and a ...

Ben Leffew, Preserve Manager & Laura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager In 2009 Shaker Village got out of the industrial farming ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing "In the end, our society will be defined not only by ...

Executive Chef Dylan Morris As we roll into growing season here at Shaker Village, I’m looking forward to the early ...

Laura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager We’re on a constant mission to improve our trail system to make it safer for ...

Kitty Durham, Garden Supervisor Spring has officially sprung! Sunday, March 20th marked the Vernal Equinox, the first day of astronomical ...

The role of African American Stonemasons in the Bluegrass. Pony Meyer, PhD, Program SpecialistEm J Parsley, MFA, Village Interpreter Shaker ...

Shelby Jones, Director of Communications The holiday season is all about gathering together with family and friends, and it usually ...

Barry Stumbo, Chief Development OfficerMelissa Williams, Development Coordinator It’s a festive time of year at Shaker Village! Most of the ...

Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator “When we sow words and deeds of kindness, we will rejoice in the time of harvest ...

Shelby Jones, Director of Communications Thanksgiving is just around the corner and The Trustees’ Table is ready to dish out ...

Billy Rankin, VP of Public Programming and Marketing This is the sixth part of a behind-the-scenes look at the development ...

Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator Imagine yourself standing on the turnpike here at Shaker Village. Close your eyes for a moment ...

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Marketing and Public Programming 34 historic structures. 36 miles of hiking trails. 3,000 acres of ...

Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator “We are so indebted to the fact that they had that foresight and that passion to ...

Maynard Crossland, President & CEO Historic sites are very traditional places. Obviously the missions of these institutions are based on ...

Preserving and Interpreting Pleasant Hill Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is the largest National ...

It takes a Village to save a Village. Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager After the last Pleasant Hill Shaker ...

Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator Today marks one year since Shaker Village reopened to the public after a temporary, three-month closure ...

Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator Planning for Preservation The master preservation plan for Shaker Village lays out short, mid and long-term ...

Billy Rankin, VP of Public Programming and Marketing This is the fifth part of our behind-the-scenes look at the development ...

Shelby Jones, Director of Communications May is recognized nationally as Preservation Month, and has been celebrated in some form since ...

Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator It’s fascinating to look through photographs from the time between when the Shakers closed  their covenant ...

Billy Rankin, VP of Public Programming and Marketing This is the fourth part of our behind-the-scenes look at the development ...

The Ministry’s Workshop at 200 Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager The Ministry's Workshop today. “October 26, 1820: the Ministry’s ...

Laura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager Spring is here and our forests have once again been transformed by delicate little wildflowers ...

Jacob Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education A few weeks ago we began our blog series on our trip ...

Holly Wood, Music Program Specialist "Mother's Good Drink" note the attribution in the corner which says, "Patsy Williamson coloured Sister." ...

Billy Rankin, VP of Public Programming and Marketing This is the third part of our behind-the-scenes look at the development ...

Jacob Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill staff prepare to give a presentation ...

Billy Rankin, VP of Public Programming and Marketing Last month we told you about a new exhibit being developed at ...

Rebecca Wilson,Senior Catering & Event Sales Manager Something that everyone has had to navigate during the global pandemic is how ...

Jacob Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education President George Washington While it was not unheard of for the ...

Michael Moore, Farm Manager One of the most exciting times of the year is upon us and it’s shaping up ...

Brandi Duff, Farm Assistant For more than two centuries, seeds have been saved from the vegetable gardens at Pleasant Hill ...

Jacob Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education On January 24, 1871, Pleasant Hill took the step of expelling ...

Billy Rankin, VP of Public Programming and Marketing Have you visited Shaker Village in the last few years? If so, ...

Laura Webb, Program Specialist That’s a wrap, folks! My time officially working on the NEH grant project has come to ...

Laura Webb, Program Specialist Happy New Year, y’all! Did you miss me? The NEH grant series took a hiatus last ...

Melissa Donahoo, Development Coordinator The staff and administration at Shaker Village entered 2020 with a high level of energy and ...

Jacob A. Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education "This is a remarkable cold windy day.  This day one of ...

Margaret Graves, Campaign Director Ellen Chapman has a special passion for Shaker Village. She first visited Shaker Village as a ...

Jacob A. Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education We’re unveiling a new series this afternoon that we are ...

Laura Webb, Program Specialist It’s the penultimate month of our NEH grant project! Time sure flies, doesn’t it? Since July, ...

Laura Webb, Program Specialist "Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. " - Zora Neale ...

Jacob Glover, Ph.D., Director of Public Programs and Education "Great architecture has this capacity to adapt to changing functional uses ...

Melissa Donahoo, Development Coordinator In the 1970s, the trees in the Shaker Village Apple Orchard were planted in honor of ...

Laura Webb, Program Specialist What does the color combination of blue and white remind you of? Perhaps it is Blue ...

Jacob Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education “…Shrieks and yells followed in alternate succession, till by their violence, ...

Laura Webb, Program Specialist Hi again! The NEH digitization project is chugging right along. Last week, I finished editing object ...

Jacob A. Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education “…The brethren started into the woods, about 3 ½ miles ...

Laura Webb, Program Specialist Hello again, folks! We’re now halfway through our NEH grant timeline. I’m approaching the home stretch ...

Laura Webb, Program Specialist In a previous post, I mentioned that sifting through our object records let me find large ...

Laura Webb, Program Specialist Warning – The following post shares the stories of historic artifacts that have, in the past, ...

By Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager Do you have a favorite Shaker artifact? When you think of Pleasant Hill, ...

Laura Webb, Program Specialist Hello again! Welcome to the second installment of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant ...

Laura Webb, Program Specialist "I visited here in 1993 and remember seeing an interesting clothes press. Where is that now, ...

Maggie McAdams, Assistant Program Manager “’Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free, ‘tis a gift ...

Aaron Genton, Collections Manager Social distancing.Stay at home orders.No school.No worship.Essential activities only.Take care of each other. Sound familiar? While ...

Jacob Glover, PhD., Program Manager “Indeed, cooking is an art just as much as painting a picture or making a ...

Maggie McAdams, Assistant Program Manager “… We observed one very pleasant feature… conspicuous above many other excellencies, nearly every person ...

Jacob Glover, PhD. Program Manager "…We visited the department for the sick which was under the charge of Jane Ryan.…The ...

Jacob Glover, PhD. Program Manager “About midnight last night, a band of mounted highway robbers, 6 in number, entered our ...

Maggie McAdams, Assistant Program Manager This blog post is dedicated to Rebekah Roberts who sought the truth in the past, ...

Holly Wood, Music Program Specialist “And I am thankful I was called into the gospel when I was a child, ...