Blog Articles

Jordan Lewis, Interpreter Early Homes In the first decade after the arrival of Shaker missionaries in Mercer County, before the ...
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Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager Who was Sister Mary, and why are we trying to find her? A born ...
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Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator 2022 has been an incredible year at Shaker Village. There is so much to celebrate and ...
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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 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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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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Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager & Laura Webb, Program Team Coordinator The Shakers, as a religious communal society, were ...
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Laura Baird, Stewardship Manager The monarch butterfly is one of the most celebrated insect species in North America and a ...
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Ben Leffew, Preserve Manager & Laura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager In 2009 Shaker Village got out of the industrial farming ...
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Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing "In the end, our society will be defined not only by ...
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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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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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Kitty Durham, Garden Supervisor Spring has officially sprung! Sunday, March 20th marked the Vernal Equinox, the first day of astronomical ...
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The role of African American Stonemasons in the Bluegrass. Pony Meyer, PhD, Program SpecialistEm J Parsley, MFA, Village Interpreter Shaker ...
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Shelby Jones, Director of Communications The holiday season is all about gathering together with family and friends, and it usually ...
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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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Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator “When we sow words and deeds of kindness, we will rejoice in the time of harvest ...
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Shelby Jones, Director of Communications Thanksgiving is just around the corner and The Trustees’ Table is ready to dish out ...
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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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Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator Imagine yourself standing on the turnpike here at Shaker Village. Close your eyes for a moment ...
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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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Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator “We are so indebted to the fact that they had that foresight and that passion to ...
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Maynard Crossland, President & CEO Historic sites are very traditional places. Obviously the missions of these institutions are based on ...
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Preserving and Interpreting Pleasant Hill Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is the largest National ...
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It takes a Village to save a Village. Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager After the last Pleasant Hill Shaker ...
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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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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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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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Shelby Jones, Director of Communications May is recognized nationally as Preservation Month, and has been celebrated in some form since ...
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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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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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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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Laura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager Spring is here and our forests have once again been transformed by delicate little wildflowers ...
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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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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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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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Jacob Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill staff prepare to give a presentation ...
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Billy Rankin, VP of Public Programming and Marketing Last month we told you about a new exhibit being developed at ...
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Rebecca Wilson,Senior Catering & Event Sales Manager Something that everyone has had to navigate during the global pandemic is how ...
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Jacob Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education President George Washington While it was not unheard of for the ...
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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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Brandi Duff, Farm Assistant For more than two centuries, seeds have been saved from the vegetable gardens at Pleasant Hill ...
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Jacob Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education On January 24, 1871, Pleasant Hill took the step of expelling ...
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Billy Rankin, VP of Public Programming and Marketing Have you visited Shaker Village in the last few years? If so, ...
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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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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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Melissa Donahoo, Development Coordinator The staff and administration at Shaker Village entered 2020 with a high level of energy and ...
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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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Margaret Graves, Campaign Director Ellen Chapman has a special passion for Shaker Village. She first visited Shaker Village as a ...
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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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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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Laura Webb, Program Specialist "Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. " - Zora Neale ...
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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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Melissa Donahoo, Development Coordinator In the 1970s, the trees in the Shaker Village Apple Orchard were planted in honor of ...
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Laura Webb, Program Specialist What does the color combination of blue and white remind you of? Perhaps it is Blue ...
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Jacob Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education “…Shrieks and yells followed in alternate succession, till by their violence, ...
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Laura Webb, Program Specialist Hi again! The NEH digitization project is chugging right along. Last week, I finished editing object ...
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Jacob A. Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education “…The brethren started into the woods, about 3 ½ miles ...
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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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Laura Webb, Program Specialist In a previous post, I mentioned that sifting through our object records let me find large ...
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Laura Webb, Program Specialist Warning – The following post shares the stories of historic artifacts that have, in the past, ...
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By Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager Do you have a favorite Shaker artifact? When you think of Pleasant Hill, ...
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Laura Webb, Program Specialist Hello again! Welcome to the second installment of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant ...
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Laura Webb, Program Specialist "I visited here in 1993 and remember seeing an interesting clothes press. Where is that now, ...
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Maggie McAdams, Assistant Program Manager “’Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free, ‘tis a gift ...
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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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Jacob Glover, PhD., Program Manager “Indeed, cooking is an art just as much as painting a picture or making a ...
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Maggie McAdams, Assistant Program Manager “… We observed one very pleasant feature… conspicuous above many other excellencies, nearly every person ...
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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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Jacob Glover, PhD. Program Manager “About midnight last night, a band of mounted highway robbers, 6 in number, entered our ...
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Maggie McAdams, Assistant Program Manager This blog post is dedicated to Rebekah Roberts who sought the truth in the past, ...
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Holly Wood, Music Program Specialist “And I am thankful I was called into the gospel when I was a child, ...
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Rebekah Roberts, Program Specialist Women in the 1700s were often considered the possessions and servants of men, but Ann Lee ...
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Brandon Wilson, Program Specialist In 1808, Shaker missionaries hiked their way through Shawnee territory in the Indiana planes, on the ...
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Melissa Donahoo, Development Coordinator The Shakers practiced their faith at Pleasant Hill for more than a century, but their impact ...
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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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Brandon Wilson, Program Specialist Over the course of its history, the Shaker community at Pleasant Hill was the spiritual home ...
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Jacob Glover, PhD., Program Manager “It was something out of a Faulkner novel, going there for dinner.” - Dick DeCamp, ...
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The Shakers were no strangers to celestial phenomena like the solar eclipse that will cast fleeting darkness over portions of ...
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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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A quiet winter peace falls over Shaker Village this time of year. The bustle of the holidays is ending, and ...
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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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Rebekah Roberts, Program Specialist “A large business is done… in pressed and prepared herbs and roots, besides many tons in ...
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Barry Stumbo, Chief Development Officer Mrs. Milly Ann Stewart is a remarkable person, who has been a powerful and influential ...
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Jacob Glover, PhD., Program Manager "...I almost expect to be remembered as a chair, or a table..." - Shaker Sister ...
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Melissa Donahoo, Development Coordinator Celebrating Success: Phase 1 of The Campaign for Shaker Village In late 2014, the Board of ...
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Jacob Glover, PhD., Program Manager “A village of Shakers lies a few miles beyond Kentucky river, and it is curious ...
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William Updike, VP of Natural and Cultural ResourcesMike Brown, Maintenance ForemanBen Leffew, Preserve ManagerLaura Baird, Assistant Preserve ManagerMike Moore, Farm ...
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Jacob Glover, PhD, Program Manager “The House is built of so dureable materials, that one might suppose it would stand ...
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Jacob Glover, PhD., Program Manager By all accounts, most readers of this blog, and probably anyone who has heard any ...
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William Updike, Vice President of Natural and Cultural Resources Many of you may recall we began working to preserve the ...
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Rebecca Wilson, Catering & Event Sales Manager When you book a wedding with Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, your experience ...
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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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Maggie McAdams, Assistant Program Manager “[1855] Wed. January 3 Today George Curds barn took fire and burnt up, together with ...
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William Updike, Vice President of Natural and Cultural Resources Shaker Village has over 25 miles of historic rock fence along ...
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Ben Leffew, Preserve ManagerLaura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager Bats are an integral, but often overlooked and always misunderstood, part of ...
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Jacob Glover, PhD. Program Manager “Thousands of holy Angels attended this meeting, with whom was the Prophets Jeremiah, Joel, Ezekiel ...
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Aaron Genton, Collections Manager While recently going through some boxes in the library, I came across this really interesting item ...
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Shaker Village Board of Trustees Offer Matching Gift Challenge Barry Stumbo, Chief Development Officer The Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill ...
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William Updike, Vice President of Natural & Cultural Resources 1817 East Family Dwelling as "Shakertown Inn." Early 20th Century. Many ...
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