March 29th marks the 102nd anniversary of the passing of Sister Mary Settles, the last Shaker who lived at Pleasant Hill. A mother, educator, leader, and local celebrity, Sister Mary’s commitment to the Shaker faith and to the Pleasant Hill community remained a large part of her until her death.
Sister Mary Settles took on many different leadership roles during her time at Pleasant Hill, including serving as one of Pleasant Hill’s teachers. In 1874, her first class included all nineteen of the community’s school-aged girls. On a few occasions, when no male teacher was available, Sister Mary would teach the school-aged boys, as the classroom followed the Shakers’ practice of separating students based on gender.
A former student of Sister Mary identified her in this photograph with an “X.” On the reverse, it is captioned “Sister Mary Settles, my teacher when I was a child.”
Sister Mary would also take her students on outings outside of the classroom, such as recreational wagon rides and picnics. She would also serve as a theatrical director, coordinating several “entertainments” produced by the children she taught. Sister Mary’s students remembered her long she taught them.
Sister Mary retired from teaching in 1890. Although she retained her teaching certification for many years, even going to participate in the Harrodsburg teachers’ institute as part of the state of Kentucky’s requirement for teachers, it was deemed unnecessary to continue the school at Pleasant Hill due to there being fewer and fewer children to educate in Pleasant Hill’s population.
Sister Mary died peacefully on March 29, 1923 in Centre Family Dwelling and is buried in the cemetery at Pleasant Hill. Her legacy as an educator, leader, and well-known facet of Pleasant Hill remains true to this day.
“Sister Mary was a woman of remarkable character, and intellect. For a great many years she was at the head of the school in Shakertown, helping to shape its policies through her educational work. She loved young people and was very congenial with them.” – Harrodsburg Herald, March 30, 1923
At Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, we are always learning about the people who called Pleasant Hill home. In celebration of International Women’s Day, we wanted take a closer look at one of Pleasant Hill’s female spiritual leaders, who not only served the Shaker community at Pleasant Hill until her death, but compiled a vital piece of material culture, offering insight into the early music of the Shakers.
Paulina Bryant served in Pleasant Hill’s ministry for 45 years, the longest tenure of any member of the community’s leadership, male or female. The ministry was ultimately responsible for Shaker spiritual leadership, including appointing elders, trustees, and deacons in each family within the community.
She was born on February 10, 1808 in Fayette County, Kentucky and came to Pleasant Hill with her parents and other family members in March 1810. Paulina served as deaconess for the Centre Family, taking charge over the temporal matters of everyday life, living, and business within the Centre Family beginning in 1834.
On June 20, 1841, Paulina was appointed as second to Sarah Jenkins within the Pleasant Hill ministry by the ministry at New Lebanon. Paulina was then appointed first Eldress and would remain in this position until her death in 1886.
As a group, the Shakers have written over 20,000 songs since the eighteenth century. Music and song were vital to Shaker life and Shaker worship. In the early decades of the Shaker West, the tunes for hymns and songs were mainly held in oral tradition. When the “Era of Manifestations” reached Pleasant Hill in the late 1830s, new music written by Shaker sisters and brethren flowed through Pleasant Hill.
Eldress Paulina Bryant (back left) is pictured with Eldress Eliza Carpenter and Elder Benjamin Dunlavy in front of the Ministry’s Workshop, c. 1885.
However, Eldress Paulina recognized the importance of preserving the older music that had been used during Shaker worship from its founding until the beginning of the “Era of Manifestations.”
In 1854, Eldress Paulina began to compile a manuscript of “ancient songs” written and sung at Pleasant Hill, as well as songs and hymns originating at other Shaker sites. These songs served as the foundation of Pleasant Hill’s music up until 1840. This collection has been of great value to modern Shaker scholars in reconstructing earlier Shaker music both at Pleasant Hill and throughout the Shaker west. The manuscript is housed within the Library of Congress.
Eldress Paulina died on September 13, 1886 at Pleasant Hill and is buried in the Pleasant Hill cemetery. For her funeral, large bouquets of fresh flowers were gathered to decorate her coffin:
“Demise Eldress Polina [Paulina] Bryant Leading sister of the Society at Pleasant Hill & excellent pattern of Christianity….some went for flowers to decorate Eldress Polinas coffin / in PH Ministry 1841 until death, 1886, 45 yrs.”
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we celebrate Paulina Bryant and her many contributions to the Shaker community at Pleasant Hill, along with all the sisters at Pleasant Hill that contributed to its rich history.
To learn more about the women of Pleasant Hill go behind the scenes with Shaker Village’s curator to explore Shaker Sisterhood on Saturday, March 8.
The twinkling white lights strung across the Village instill a quiet sense of inner peace and renewal as you walk down the historic turnpike. It feels this way every year as the calendar turns from December to January, but this year there is an extra sense of something magical in the air.
2024 marked the 250th anniversary of the Shakers’ arrival in America. As we commemorate this milestone there is so much to celebrate this year at Pleasant Hill—thanks to the incredible support of our community of donors, guests, volunteers, staff and Trustees. It’s your support through your visits and your gifts of time and treasure that preserves history, stewards 3,000 acres of natural and cultural landscape and inspires memory-making experiences for guests of all ages.
Below are a few highlights from 2024, made possible through your support:
Donors came together to meet the Trustees’ Matching Challenge, raising more than $325,000 for Shaker Village’s mission.
Significant progress was made in preserving the site’s history through preservation projects:
Exterior carpentry at the West Family Sisters’ Shop including restored windows, doors and the soffit.
A fresh coat of paint completed the restoration of the Carriage House.
Ongoing maintenance and repairs were completed at historic buildings across the Village.
Carpenter Robert Brown replaces windows in the West Family Sisters’ Shop.
Our teams cared for the cultural landscape making upgrades to the 30.5-mile trail system.
New benches were added at key spots in the Preserve to add peaceful rest stops for hikers.
New bluebird boxes and fishing line disposal receptacles were installed to support biodiversity and protect habitats.
Clearing of invasive plants began in key areas along Highway 68 and near the West Lot Dwelling to enhance our habitat focus.
Thanks to a donor there are six new benches in the Preserve.
This year, we offered new and engaging experiences for guests including:
New field trip programs were introduced for schools, including If Walls Could Talk, which invites students to explore the architectural history of the Village.
The new Flushed Awaydaily program explored Shaker innovations in waste management while highlighting Shaker ingenuity.
Two temporary exhibits were featured this year: Spark! Places of Innovation highlighted the intersection of Shaker ingenuity and contemporary innovation, while Pleasant Hill Paintings: An Exhibition of Work – Charles Jolly, showcased vibrant artwork that brought Shaker Village to life.
A special experience celebrated Elizabeth Kremer’s role in the establishment of Shaker Village’s food service during the Fresh Food Adventure: A Step Back in Time.
Works from the Charles Jolly exhibit were featured in Centre Family Dwelling.
The success of the Farm continues to be a cornerstone of our sustainability efforts.
Guests learn about the benefits of nutrient-dense, locally grown foods through hands-on adventures such as Taste of Fresh and Shaker Orchards presented daily at the Farm.
The addition of Dr. H.P. Lovelace as the new farm manager signals an exciting chapter in expanding the farm’s role, focusing on holistic wellness, biodiversity and innovation.
New Farm Manager Dr. H.P. Lovelace cares for all of the Village’s “farmily” members.
Shaker Village continues to be a proud local employer and economic driver in Mercer County.
Collaborations with regional businesses and artisans have helped us create a thriving, welcoming environment for guests and a diverse staff.
The Village’s nine annual signature events draw thousands of guests to central Kentucky each year, stimulating local businesses, creating seasonal jobs and fostering community engagement.
As the year ends, Shaker Village remains a place where history is not only preserved but where it is lived—through every conversation, every meal and every guest who explores the grounds. We’re looking forward to an even brighter year ahead filled with new exciting projects and countless memory-making moments.
This National Philanthropy Day, we are excited to recognize Gene Carpenter, a dedicated volunteer and generous donor whose connection to Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill spans over five decades. National Philanthropy Day, celebrated on November 15, is a time to honor those whose philanthropic efforts enrich our communities. Gene’s story is one of personal passion and a deep commitment to preserving the legacy of Shaker Village.
The Shaker Village team honored Carpenter with an award during the Association of Fundraising Professionals Kentucky Bluegrass Chapter’s event. Pictured left to right: Director of Collections & Education Rebecca Soules, Honoree Gene Carpenter and Chief Development Officer Melissa Williams
Gene first visited Shaker Village in the late 1960s with her mother for lunch at The Trustees’ Office dining room. From that first visit, she was captivated by the simplicity and craftsmanship of Shaker architecture and design—a love that would go on to influence furnishings in her own homes and would draw her back over the years. Her strong connection to Shaker Village even played a role in her decision to move to Danville, drawn by its proximity to the place she held so dear.
After relocating, Gene became a vital part of our collections department, volunteering her time to help preserve the history she loves. Her projects have ranged from organizing historic photos to cataloging “mystery boxes” of artifacts. In addition to her volunteer efforts, Gene has made a profound commitment to the future of Shaker Village by including us in her estate plans. Her intention to donate a portion of the proceeds from her estate will carry forward her love, care and concern of the Village.
Gene’s generosity and dedication serve as an inspiration to us all. As she reflects, “Shaker Village has had a profound influence on my life for over 50 years, and I hope it remains a place of beauty and history for many more to come.”
We are honored to celebrate Gene Carpenter on National Philanthropy Day and thank her for the immeasurable impact she has had on our beloved village.
To learn more about volunteering and donating to Shaker Village visit our website.
We don’t tend to give the mail a lot of thought these days. With email, cellphones, and especially the internet, so-called “snail mail” is increasingly neglected, fit only for low-stakes correspondence like birthday cards or letters to Santa. But once upon a time, the mail was all-important, the lifeline connecting anyone who lived farther than a few miles’ walk.
Though it may no longer serve as our primary means of communication, the mail still brings us something that electronic messages can’t—tangible human contact. Think about that birthday card you still have in your drawer, the one with your grandma’s signature that you run your fingers over from time to time. Or the letter from a childhood pen-pal, yellowed with age but still fresh in your memory. These things are precious, physical reminders of our connection with people who are absent from us. The mail, though it may seem archaic and irrelevant in our modern world, fosters family and community—just like the Shakers.
Functional Elegance
Earlier this week, the US Postal Service released a collection of twelve stamps in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Shakers’ arrival in America in 1774. The collection, titled “Shaker Design,” focuses not only on the beauty of Shaker craftsmanship, but also on the practical use of these objects by real people, for real working tasks. The stamps celebrate this “functional elegance” on large and small scales, from the smallest corner of a handkerchief to the expansive façade of a family dwelling. One even features the famous double spiral staircase of the Trustees’ Office here at Pleasant Hill, designed by Micajah Burnett in 1839.
The spiral staircase in the Trustees’ Office graces one of the 2024 Shaker Design stamps.
The collection’s “selvage,” or backing paper, ties these twelve seemingly disparate images together with a photograph of Shaker Brother Ricardo Belden crafting oval boxes in his workshop at Hancock Shaker Village, circa 1935. The photo is striking, giving a face to these objects handcrafted long ago.
The collection’s selvage shows a Shaker brother making oval boxes, emphasizing the handcrafted nature of Shaker objects.
But an emphasis on human connection is far from the only thing linking the Shakers to the Postal Service. In fact, the two have a long and deeply connected history—especially at Pleasant Hill.
Celerity, Certainty, Security
The United States Postal Service was founded by the Second Continental Congress in 1775, predating the Declaration of Independence by nearly a year. Instrumental to the Revolutionary cause and indispensable to citizens of all kinds, the USPS expanded significantly westward in the late eighteenth century, and Kentucky’s first post office was established in Danville in 1792. Harrodsburg followed shortly after in 1794, giving Mercer County residents access to reliable communication networks for the first time. Mercer County’s second post office, however, was established in the spring of 1818, right here at Pleasant Hill.
The founding of the Pleasant Hill Post Office came just after the introduction of a major innovation to mail services in the Bluegrass: the stagecoach. Stagecoaches, so named because they carried out their journeys in different stages with different horses, could carry correspondence at around eight miles per hour, especially if they had macadamized, or hard paved, roads to drive on. After the introduction of the mail stagecoach in Kentucky in 1816, constructing these macadamized roads became a top priority for the young state.
A model of an 1818 stagecoach used to carry mail, currently on display at the National Postal Museum.
In 1833, the Kentucky legislature called for the construction of a paved turnpike connecting Lexington, Harrodsburg, and Perryville to facilitate easier trade, travel, and communication. The proposed route ran through the heart of Pleasant Hill, and the Shakers quickly got to work on their portion of the new macadamized road. Spearheaded by Micajah Burnett, Pleasant Hill’s engineering wunderkind, the new turnpike was completed by 1839, and quickly became an integral part of postal services in the region.
A Rising Star (Route)
When Lexingtonian William T. Barry was appointed Postmaster General in 1829, he quickly began working on “the great mail development,” a project which would increase the reach, speed, and reliability of postal service on what was then just short of the western frontier. At the start of this venture, all mail from the eastern states was carried westward on the Cumberland Road, running from Maryland to Missouri. But soon Barry began to plan a new route into the south, branching off from the Cumberland Road in Zanesville, Ohio. This route would showcase the efficacy and potential of the mail coach—and it would run right through Pleasant Hill.
Known as the Zanesville-Florence Star Route, the road began in Zanesville, Ohio, then on to the ferry at Maysville, then stopping in Lexington, Harrodsburg, Perryville, Lebanon, Campbellsville, Glasgow, Gallatin, Nashville, and Columbia before terminating in Florence, Alabama. If a letter was destined for an address even further south, it could be taken on board a steamboat and delivered all the way down to New Orleans.
Partly conceived to facilitate this new route, Pleasant Hill’s new turnpike, with its smooth macadamized surface, was an ideal road for mail coaches. These vehicles, pulled by teams of four to six horses, were the dominant means of mail delivery in the US for nearly forty years. They only began to decline in the mid-1850s, when railroad technology had improved enough to overtake the stagecoach in both speed and efficiency. The route through Pleasant Hill was discontinued by 1877, and the post office followed in 1904.
Located near the Welcome Center, Kentucky Historic Marker No. 1816 recounts the importance of Pleasant Hill in the construction of the new mail route.
While the mail coaches may be gone along with Pleasant Hill’s Shakers, the need for communication and connection to each other persists, beyond what’s possible in an intangible, typed message. So, this summer, why not do as the Shakers did—slow down, take a deep breath, and send a letter to someone you love.
And when you do, imagine the sound of hoofbeats.
The Shaker Design Stamp Collection can be purchased online here, onsite at Shaker Village’s Shops or at your local Post Office.
Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill | 3501 Lexington Road, Harrodsburg KY 40330 | shakervillageky.org | 800.734.5611
