Blog Articles

The Origins of the North Lot Dwelling

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

Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager Who was Sister Mary, and why are we trying to find her? A born ...
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2022: A Year in Review

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

Shannon Timmons, Annual Passholder Program Coordinator As we enter the month of November, many of us turn our thoughts to ...
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A Look Inside Little English’s Fall Photoshoot

A few months ago, Shaker Village hosted Little English, a female-led Lexington, Ky. based children’s clothing line, for their fall ...
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Chef Amber Hokams Returns to Our Table

Shelby Jones, Director of Communications Fall has officially arrived at Shaker Village and we’re celebrating with a full lineup of ...
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The Tool that Empowers: Shaker Literacy

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

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

Ben Leffew, Preserve Manager & Laura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager In 2009 Shaker Village got out of the industrial farming ...
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What we refuse to destroy…

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing "In the end, our society will be defined not only by ...
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Spring Harvest at The Trustees’ Table

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

Laura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager We’re on a constant mission to improve our trail system to make it safer for ...
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Community Supported Agriculture at Shaker Village

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

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

Shelby Jones, Director of Communications The holiday season is all about gathering together with family and friends, and it usually ...
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SHAKER VILLAGE CELEBRATES 2021 AND LOOKS FORWARD TO THE FUTURE

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

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

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

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

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

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Marketing and Public Programming 34 historic structures. 36 miles of hiking trails. 3,000 acres of ...
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It Takes a Village to Sustain a Village

Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator “We are so indebted to the fact that they had that foresight and that passion to ...
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Finding Relevance in a Changing World

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

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

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

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

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

Billy Rankin, VP of Public Programming and Marketing This is the fifth part of our behind-the-scenes look at the development ...
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Preserving Shaker Village One Repair at a Time

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

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

Billy Rankin, VP of Public Programming and Marketing This is the fourth part of our behind-the-scenes look at the development ...
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Communal Workspace – Then & Now

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

Laura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager Spring is here and our forests have once again been transformed by delicate little wildflowers ...
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Visiting New England Shaker Sites, Part II

Jacob Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education A few weeks ago we began our blog series on our trip ...
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African American Experiences at Pleasant Hill: Patsy Roberts (Williamson)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Laura Webb, Program Specialist Happy New Year, y’all! Did you miss me? The NEH grant series took a hiatus last ...
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2020 – A Year Like No Other

Melissa Donahoo, Development Coordinator The staff and administration at Shaker Village entered 2020 with a high level of energy and ...
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Today in Pleasant Hill History – December 6th

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

Margaret Graves, Campaign Director Ellen Chapman has a special passion for Shaker Village. She first visited Shaker Village as a ...
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Today in Pleasant Hill History – November 22

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jacob Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education “…Shrieks and yells followed in alternate succession, till by their violence, ...
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“Could Scarcely Find / A Theme More Puzzling…”

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

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

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

Laura Webb, Program Specialist In a previous post, I mentioned that sifting through our object records let me find large ...
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Curses and Serendipity: Artifact Homecomings

Laura Webb, Program Specialist Warning – The following post shares the stories of historic artifacts that have, in the past, ...
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Pieces of Pleasant Hill: Objects + Stories

By Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager Do you have a favorite Shaker artifact? When you think of Pleasant Hill, ...
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Past “Perfection,” Depth and Breadth

Laura Webb, Program Specialist Hello again! Welcome to the second installment of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant ...
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Sharing the Archives, One Bite at a Time

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

Maggie McAdams, Assistant Program Manager “’Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free, ‘tis a gift ...
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“There being a contagious disease…”

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 ...
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Cooking is an Art

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

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

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

Jacob Glover, PhD. Program Manager “About midnight last night, a band of mounted highway robbers, 6 in number, entered our ...
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Gender Equality, In Theory: Sister Jane Sutton

Maggie McAdams, Assistant Program Manager This blog post is dedicated to Rebekah Roberts who sought the truth in the past, ...
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Sister Charlotte Tann: Strengthened by Faith

Holly Wood, Music Program Specialist “And I am thankful I was called into the gospel when I was a child, ...
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Mother Ann’s Mission: Calling and Controversy

Rebekah Roberts, Program Specialist Women in the 1700s were often considered the possessions and servants of men, but Ann Lee ...
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THE TALE OF ANTHONY TANN

Brandon Wilson, Program Specialist In 1808, Shaker missionaries hiked their way through Shawnee territory in the Indiana planes, on the ...
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Donor Impact: Improvements to the Visitor Experience

Melissa Donahoo, Development Coordinator The Shakers practiced their faith at Pleasant Hill for more than a century, but their impact ...
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The Proud Custodian of Shakertown’s Past

Brandon Wilson, Program Specialist Among Pleasant Hill’s most iconic residents was Philip West, a man whose habitation in the East ...
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THE MARGINS THAT DEFINE US

Brandon Wilson, Program Specialist Over the course of its history, the Shaker community at Pleasant Hill was the spiritual home ...
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The Shaker Guest House

Jacob Glover, PhD., Program Manager “It was something out of a Faulkner novel, going there for dinner.” - Dick DeCamp, ...
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Stargazing Poets and Humbug Farmers

The Shakers were no strangers to celestial phenomena like the solar eclipse that will cast fleeting darkness over portions of ...
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Swept Away

Jacob Glover, PhD., Program Manager “These people are rich and getting richer. Contrast a Shaker broom with a penitentiary contract-labor ...
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2019 – A Year In Review

A quiet winter peace falls over Shaker Village this time of year. The bustle of the holidays is ending, and ...
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Small Acts of Kindness

Melissa Donahoo, Development Coordinator Guests attending Illuminated Evenings at Shaker Village may donate non-perishable food items or winter clothing in ...
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“…Prepared Herbs and Roots…”

Rebekah Roberts, Program Specialist “A large business is done… in pressed and prepared herbs and roots, besides many tons in ...
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A Kentucky Treasure – Mrs. Milly Ann Stewart

Barry Stumbo, Chief Development Officer Mrs. Milly Ann Stewart is a remarkable person, who has been a powerful and influential ...
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“…to be remembered as a chair…”

Jacob Glover, PhD., Program Manager "...I almost expect to be remembered as a chair, or a table..." - Shaker Sister ...
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The Campaign for Shaker Village

Melissa Donahoo, Development Coordinator Celebrating Success: Phase 1 of The Campaign for Shaker Village In late 2014, the Board of ...
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Built on Belief

Jacob Glover, PhD., Program Manager “A village of Shakers lies a few miles beyond Kentucky river, and it is curious ...
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Building a Sustainable Future

William Updike, VP of Natural and Cultural ResourcesMike Brown, Maintenance ForemanBen Leffew, Preserve ManagerLaura Baird, Assistant Preserve ManagerMike Moore, Farm ...
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“…one might suppose it would stand for a thousand years…”

Jacob Glover, PhD, Program Manager “The House is built of so dureable materials, that one might suppose it would stand ...
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“‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free…”

Jacob Glover, PhD., Program Manager By all accounts, most readers of this blog, and probably anyone who has heard any ...
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Water House Preservation…Part 2!

William Updike, Vice President of Natural and Cultural Resources Many of you may recall we began working to preserve the ...
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Kentucky’s “Storybook Wedding” Destination

Rebecca Wilson, Catering & Event Sales Manager When you book a wedding with Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, your experience ...
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Lessons from the Past, Visions for the Future

Melissa Donahoo, Development Coordinator As we have shared in previous posts, Shaker Village recently completed a large-scale preservation project in ...
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Putting Food By: Preserving the Harvest at Pleasant Hill

Maggie McAdams, Assistant Program Manager “[1855] Wed. January 3 Today George Curds barn took fire and burnt up, together with ...
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Rocking Our World

William Updike, Vice President of Natural and Cultural Resources Shaker Village has over 25 miles of historic rock fence along ...
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Going Batty!

Ben Leffew, Preserve ManagerLaura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager Bats are an integral, but often overlooked and always misunderstood, part of ...
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A Spiritual Stroll at Shaker Village

Jacob Glover, PhD. Program Manager “Thousands of holy Angels attended this meeting, with whom was the Prophets Jeremiah, Joel, Ezekiel ...
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The Photo Within a Photo

Aaron Genton, Collections Manager While recently going through some boxes in the library, I came across this really interesting item ...
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Double Your Impact

Shaker Village Board of Trustees Offer Matching Gift Challenge Barry Stumbo, Chief Development Officer The Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill ...
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Windows – The “Eyes” of a Building

William Updike, Vice President of Natural & Cultural Resources 1817 East Family Dwelling as "Shakertown Inn." Early 20th Century. Many ...
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