The Trail West

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing

Trailhead on the Move

When Shaker Village introduced the list of projects associated with its Long-Range Plan in May, it was noted that “no project stands alone.” Each individual project represents a piece of a larger puzzle, and in many cases the completion of one project is critical to the success of another.

This week we’re going to look at the ongoing effort to move the location of the West Trailhead, one of three trailheads used to access the Village’s 33-mile trail system. Work to relocate the trailhead began just last week, and would not have been possible without a grant through the Kentucky Colonel’s Good Works Program.

The new location for the West Trailhead will not only be more convenient for guests, but will also alleviate traffic near the 1850 West Lot Wash House, a critical step in our plans for that important structure.

A Popular Destination

The West Trailhead is the most popular point of access to Shaker Village’s multi-use trails. All horseback and carriage riders launch from this trailhead, due to its proximity to the Village’s stables, paddocks, and equine obstacle course. Hikers enjoy a variety of trails with access to acres of river cane, scenic prairie views, Shawnee Run Creek and the Fulling Mill Waterfall.


Currently, there is limited parking for hikers at the West Trailhead, which leads many guests to park in areas not intended for vehicles. This can harm animal habitat, damage landscaping and create hazards for the large horse trailers flowing to and from equestrian areas.

Luckily, we have a “built-in” solution!

Work in Progress

The image above shows the current site of the West Trailhead, with equestrian stables in the background. While horseback riders will still enter the Preserve on a variety of trails from the stables, the new location of the West Trailhead will provide much-needed parking and other future amenities for hikers.

The 1828 West Lot Dwelling sits along the West Lot Road, on the way to the current trailhead. The new location of the trailhead will take advantage of the 70 car parking lot just behind the Dwelling. The West Trailhead kiosk and map will be located near the northwest corner of this parking area.

Shaker Village’s Preserve Team is working on a new connector trail that will lead from the trailhead at the West Lot Parking Lot, toward the Chinquapin and Shawnee Run trails. Eventually, as additional funding is secured, restrooms will be built near this trailhead to serve hikers and event guests.

Our goal is to complete the new connector trail, update directional signs and launch the new West Trailhead in late September or early October. We will keep you posted, and look forward to seeing you when you hit the trail again at Shaker Village!

Follow Our Progress

Expect to hear more about the progress of our Long-Range Plan projects on social media, through emails and on the Shaker Village blog. We hope you follow along!

If you have questions about master site planning at Shaker Village, or if you would like to support our efforts, please reach out to our Vice President of Public Programming & Marketing, Billy Rankin at brankin@shakervillageky.org or 859.734.1574.

This is the twelfth article in an ongoing series outlining long-range planning at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. New to the series? You can visit our previous articles here:

Long-Range Planning: Project Progress Report

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing

Two months ago we introduced you to a project list proposed by the Shaker Village Long-Range Planning Committee as part of the Village’s next ten-year plan. While many of these projects still require years of additional planning, fundraising and prep work, our team has been able to begin on several this summer.

I hope you enjoy this brief photo tour of our progress!

Shaker Landing

Learn about the full plan for Shaker Landing.

Thanks to a generous private donation, work has begun on the 1866 Timber Frame Stable at Shaker Landing. In addition to preserving this important building, our team is outfitting the space so it may be used as a venue for dinners, receptions, educational programs and other events. Electrical upgrades, installation of fans and lights, and the conversion of a side room into a service kitchen have already begun.

We hope to begin using this venue for Shaker Village programs before the end of this fall, and it will be available for rental to groups beginning in the spring.

The boat launch at Shaker Landing has also received an upgrade this summer, with a new kayak/canoe slip added at the dock. Paddlers now have the option to launch from the concrete ramp, or to avoid muddy conditions and tow their boat out to the slip, with tethers provided along the walkway.

Learn more about launching your canoe or kayak from Shaker Landing.

Children’s Playscape

Learn about the Children’s Playscape.

Construction of the Children’s Playscape is in full swing (excuse the pun)!

Natural materials are arriving to create mounds, sand pits and climbing elements. Ground preparations, including grading and drainage, have begun, and several experiences within the playscape have already been arranged.

There is still much to do, and we are hoping for a “formal” opening of this area, located just behind our vegetable gardens, in late September. Thank you to the private donors that stepped up to make this experience possible!

The Believers

Learn about The Believers.

The floors of the 1820 Meeting House have been repaired and refinished, and new exhibit lighting has been installed throughout the second floor of the building. Full installation of the latest, permanent exhibition at Shaker Village will begin just after Labor Day. The exhibit will be open to the public before the end of September.

Watch your email for an invitation to the grand opening!

Workshop Room in the East Family Sisters’ Shop

A first floor room of the 1855 East Family Sisters’ Shop, previously used for storage, has now been converted to host workshops and craft classes. In this photo, the space is set for an upcoming chair taping workshop.

If you would like to attend a workshop in our new space, the next program (that has not already sold out) is Herbs for Home and Health on Saturday, October 7.

Check out the Shaker Village Event Calendar for more great workshops and programs!

Roads and Infrastructure

Shaker Village’s team of carpenters, painters, maintenance technicians and groundskeepers are constantly caring for the Village’s 3,000 acre property and buildings.

In addition to massive HVAC systems, electrical stations and a wastewater treatment plant, there are miles of buried utilities, stone and plank fences, gravel roads and paved surfaces. These structures and systems are typically not the focal point of a guest’s visit to Shaker Village – unless they are broken or out of service. Then they can ruin an otherwise peaceful and inspirational experience.

While plans are underway to upgrade “behind the scenes” infrastructure Village-wide, one area has received some immediate attention this summer. Travelers venturing out to the West Lot will no longer have to traverse the “minefield” of potholes and broken asphalt along the West Lot Road. New pavement and repairs were completed on the most heavily damaged segments of the 1.5 mile long road in July.

Enjoy your smooth ride, there’s more to come!

Follow Our Progress

Expect to hear more about the progress of our Long-Range Plan projects on social media, through emails and on the Shaker Village blog. We hope you follow along!

If you have questions about master site planning at Shaker Village, or if you would like to support our efforts, please reach out to our Vice President of Public Programming & Marketing, Billy Rankin at brankin@shakervillageky.org or 859.734.1574.

This is the eleventh article in an ongoing series outlining long-range planning at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. New to the series? You can visit our previous articles here:

From Office Space to Quiet Comfort

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing

Personnel Only

One goal of the Long-Range Planning process at Shaker Village is to open up more Shaker structures for public access. The 34 historic structures on our 3,000-acre property are the “crown jewels” of our organization’s collection of Shaker material artifacts. Opening these buildings to the public allows a broader understanding of Shaker architecture, community building, leadership hierarchy, utilitarianism and other key facets of life at Pleasant Hill.

The primary challenge to universal access is that daily operations require offices for staff, storage for supplies and other “behind the scenes” infrastructure to allow our businesses and programs to run effectively.

From previous articles in this series you will note that additional offices, storage and infrastructure needs are addressed in major and minor ways within a number of our other projects, showing the important interconnectivity among all the projects of the Long-Range Plan.

As the “dominoes” fall in sequence, the 1821 Ministry’s Workshop is a building that will step forward into the public spotlight once again.

Brief History of the Ministry’s Workshop

In October of 1820, the Pleasant Hill Shakers opened their new Meeting House. This large structure, built to house the Shaker’s Sunday worship, is located in what was then becoming the center of the Pleasant Hill community. Across the road from this house of worship is where construction on the 1824 Centre Family Dwelling would begin four years later, but, prior to that, a new Ministry’s Workshop was
the priority.

The “Ministry” of a Shaker community was often comprised of two Elders and two Eldresses who were tasked with overseeing the spiritual development of the Shakers in their society. The apartments for Ministry members were located on the second floor of the Meeting House, and it was typical in Shaker communities to build the offices for the Ministry very near the Meeting House. The 1821 Ministry’s Workshop is approximately 50 feet east of the 1820 Meeting House.

During its use by the Shakers, the 1821 Ministry’s Workshop served as offices and, later in the 19th century, as retiring rooms (bedrooms). By the end of the 19th century the building, like others in the Village, was sold and used as a private home.

Upon purchase and restoration by our nonprofit organization in the 1960s, the 1821 Ministry’s Workshop has been continuously adapted to fit the needs of the Village. At times serving as the front desk for the hotel, overnight guest rooms and a showroom for Shaker reproduction furniture (below, left), the building currently contains staff offices for the Farm, Preserve and Program teams at Shaker Village (below, right).

We Make You Kindly Welcome

Currently, the Inn at Shaker Village comprises 72 overnight guest rooms in 13 historic, Shaker buildings. Room types vary, from standard hotel rooms, to family suites, to private cottages. Of these, suites and cottages are the most sought after by guests, and our intention for the 1821 Ministry’s Workshop is to convert it to overnight lodging within one of these two categories. While further architectural investigation will be required, the hope of our Long-Range Planning Committee is that this structure, so conveniently located near The Trustees’ Table restaurant and parking, can be converted to a private cottage.

In many ways this intended use seems appropriate, including the parallel to the “Old” 1813 Ministry’s Shop, which also serves as a private, overnight cottage (right). This conversion will relieve a number of pressures from this irreplaceable historic building, and allow it to once again share a piece of the Shaker experience with guests.

Follow Our Progress

Expect to hear more about the progress of our Long-Range Plan projects on social media, through emails and on the Shaker Village blog. We hope you follow along!

If you have questions about master site planning at Shaker Village, or if you would like to support our efforts, please reach out to our Vice President of Public Programming & Marketing, Billy Rankin at brankin@shakervillageky.org or 859.734.1574.

This is the tenth article in an ongoing series outlining long-range planning at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. New to the series? You can visit our previous articles here:

The Believers

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing

Telling the Story

Among the list of 34 projects that has been curated for Shaker Village’s Long-Range Plan, you will find several projects that are not new ideas, but have actually been underway for some time. Historic preservation, for example, is a never-ending project at Kentucky’s largest National Historic Landmark. So too is the implementation of interpretation to share the history of this remarkable site with our guests.

Since 2017, Shaker Village has been implementing components of a “new” interpretive model. We understand that our guests are not all identical, and that people learn and interact in many different ways. With this in mind, we interpret the natural and cultural history of Pleasant Hill through a variety of methods, including: guided tours, signs, exhibits, workshops, interactive apps, books, web pages, events and hands-on learning experiences.

Among our different methods, educational exhibits provide a solid interpretive foundation for the greatest number of visitors to the Village.

Exhibits allow guests to learn at their own pace, and to pursue topics that are of the greatest personal interest. Exhibits connect visitors to the material culture of the Shakers. Exhibits immerse guests in the time, the place and the story of Pleasant Hill.

You can currently explore exhibits in 12 different historic buildings throughout the Village, and one of these spaces is about to go through a massive transformation.

The Spiritual Center

In 2018, thanks to funding provided by the Eli Lilly Endowment, preservation of the 1820 Meeting House was completed. This project, along with the simultaneous preservation of the 1824 Centre Family Dwelling, marked the largest investment in historic preservation at Pleasant Hill since the original restoration in the 1960s and 1970s.

The work not only protected these structures, but also created opportunity for the future installation of high-quality, educational exhibitions in both buildings. Lighting systems, climate control and UV protection were all new features that expanded the potential for interpretive storytelling through compelling exhibits.

Since 2018 our team has completed new exhibits in several buildings, added outdoor interpretive signs, and launched the Shaker Village App, but had not, until recently, secured funding to complete exhibitions in the 1820 Meeting House. Fortunately, the Eli Lilly Endowment once again partnered with Shaker Village to protect and share the “spiritual center” of the community. In late 2022 a grant of $275,000 was awarded for The Believers, a permanent exhibit that will explore the Shakers’ faith, and how they expressed that faith in their music, worship and everyday lives.

Exhibit Design

The Believers will inhabit eight rooms on the second floor of the Meeting House. The six largest rooms will house exhibits on the Origins of the Shaker Faith, Theology, Worship, Music, the Era of Manifestations and Construction of the Meeting House. Two smaller rooms will be “reflection stations,” each having prompts for the consideration of guests, with the opportunity to respond and interact with the space in interesting ways.

At the core of Shaker Village’s interpretive plan is a key question. The Pleasant Hill Shakers’ beliefs influenced their actions and defined their lives. How do your beliefs define you? By sharing the story of the Shakers, we hope that our guests will reflect on their own beliefs, and how beliefs, manifested in religion, philosophy or morality, shape the world around us.

To advance this goal, The Believers has been designed as a space of inspiration and contemplation. Art, music and dance are key components. Sculptural elements help to drive the experience just as much as historic content. We want this exhibit to be emotive. We want visitors to feel something.

The Believers will open in late September (keep following our weekly emails for your invitation.) After it has opened, permanent exhibitions will still be needed for the 1824 Centre Family Dwelling, 1809 Farm Deacon’s Shop, 1817 Cooper’s Shop and 1835 East Family Wash House. Until then, seasonal and temporary exhibits will fill those spaces while fundraising continues toward the master plan. We hope you will join us for each new addition along the way, as we continue to explore the history of the Shakers and Pleasant Hill!

Follow Our Progress

As projects develop, you can expect to hear more about the progress on social media, through emails and on the Shaker Village blog. We hope you follow along!

If you have questions about master site planning at Shaker Village, or if you would like to support our efforts, please reach out to our Vice President of Public Programming & Marketing, Billy Rankin at brankin@shakervillageky.org or 859.734.1574.

This is the ninth article in an ongoing series outlining long-range planning at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. New to the series? You can visit our previous articles here:

True North

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing

This is the eighth article in an ongoing series outlining long-range planning at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. New to the series? You can visit our previous articles here:

A Note of Concern

For those who have been following this series of articles about long-range planning at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, I hope you will forgive me if I draw a conclusion about you. It appears, at least on the surface, that this remarkable place matters to you, and you are interested in its future.

Perhaps you have fond memories of visits to the Village. Maybe you have spent time here with family and friends. You might have been an employee or a volunteer. There’s a chance you have photographs with the landscape and architecture of Pleasant Hill in the background, and the smiling faces of people you love in the foreground.

If any of the above happens to be true, then it is also likely that you have, at some point or another, been concerned for the future of Shaker Village. After all, caring for 34 historic structures and 3,000 acres of natural and cultural landscape presents unique challenges. During your visits you have seen roofs that needed repair, windows that were leaking and plaster that was sagging.

In the last ten years, you have also seen much change at the Village, and a renewed investment in preservation. While we have made many strides and completed dozens of preservation projects, there is one building in particular that stands out as a reminder of the work that still needs to be done: the 1816 North Lot Dwelling.

New Life for the North Lot Dwelling

For the last 15 years, the North Lot Dwelling has been closed to the public. During the late 2000s, as the economy went into depression and the Village’s annual attendance was dropping, several buildings outside of the primary “historic centre” were shuttered due to a lack of resources to keep them open. Now, this once popular guest house with a fascinating history sits in silence, awaiting the next generation of preservationists who will bring it back to life.

For motorists who travel Highway 68 to and from Harrodsburg, the North Lot Dwelling currently appears as an abandoned home, set apart from the beauty of Shaker Village by two lanes of asphalt and a tattered covering of Tyvek. This won’t be the case for much longer. Soon, preservation work will begin to replace the building’s roof and front façade. After additional fundraising is completed, the North Lot Dwelling will return to its historic identity as both a welcoming face of the Village, and as a center for hospitality.

Recent History

After the dissolution of the North Lot Family by the Shakers in 1880, the buildings and adjacent property of the North Lot were soon sold to a private landowner. The following decades saw the North Lot used as a residence and for storage. In 1966 the North Lot Dwelling, now the last remaining extant building of the North Lot, and surrounding land was purchased by the nonprofit that manages Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. After restoration efforts that began in the late 1970s were completed in 1981, the North Lot Dwelling began to host overnight guests and small retreats in 1982. The three story building included a full kitchen, five bedrooms and a large sitting area that could be converted to meeting space.

A 1982 report to the Shaker Village Board of Trustees’ stated, “The North Lot rooms are all open. Brown-Forman brought a group here this week and stayed overnight for two nights. They were delighted with it. The large first floor sitting area worked well for a meeting space.

Not only was the building a favorite for small meeting groups, due to its flexible space, full amenities and private setting, but families also found it appealing for getaways and retreats. Although the Village has a variety of family-friendly suites and cottages, no other overnight space could accommodate over a dozen guests in a “single” space.

The exterior of the North Lot Dwelling began to degrade after its public closure in the late 2000s. Some efforts were made on superficial repairs in the 2010s, but upon discovering the depth of preservation work required, especially where water had infiltrated around windows and doors, that work was stopped and a Tyvek cover was placed over the vulnerable west façade. The building has remained in this state, slowly degrading while being accessed rarely.

Brighter Future

Shaker Village’s Long-Range Planning Committee toured the North Lot Dwelling extensively before making recommendations for the future of this historic building. The first priority is, of course, preservation. As mentioned above, work to replace the roof and repair the front façade should begin later this year, thanks to the generous donations of several caring individuals. As additional funding becomes available, our teams will complete the preservation of the building’s exterior, safeguarding the structure from continued water damage.

Once exterior work is completed, attention will turn to the interior of the building. Plaster walls and ceilings, wood trim, wood floors, stairwells, steps and fixtures will all be cleaned, repaired and, where needed, replaced. New appliances and installations will modernize the kitchen and bathrooms. The building will be refurnished and decorated with an eye to Shaker design and modern comfort.

Flexible Space

Once work on the North Lot Dwelling is completed, and the building is reopened, it will provide a resource like no other at Shaker Village. A gathering for a large family or a scout group could sleep up to 24 guests in the building. A retreat of a dozen adults will have ample indoor space. Outdoor parties, luncheons and reunions will gather on the picturesque grounds, using the North Lot Dwelling as a base of operations and catering kitchen.

Bunk-style beds, with a queen mattress on the bottom and a twin above, will provide flexibility for different types of guests, while maximizing occupancy for the building. Fold out sofas and the installation of laundry facilities will provide additional flexibility for extra guests or longer stays.

As the North Lot Dwelling “comes back to life,” we will keep you updated with stories and photos. We hope you’ll stop by to welcome back this familiar friend that has needed our aid for so long.

Follow Our Progress

As projects develop, you can expect to hear more about the progress on social media, through emails and on the Shaker Village blog. We hope you follow along!

If you have questions about master site planning at Shaker Village, or if you would like to support our efforts, please reach out to our Vice President of Public Programming & Marketing, Billy Rankin at brankin@shakervillageky.org or 859.734.1574.