Blog Articles

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 ...

“…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 ...

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 ...

Built on Belief

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

Building a Sustainable Future

William Updike, VP of Natural and Cultural ResourcesMike Brown, Maintenance ForemanBen Leffew, Preserve ManagerLaura Baird, Assistant Preserve ManagerMike Moore, Farm ...

“…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 ...

“‘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 ...

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 ...

Kentucky’s “Storybook Wedding” Destination

Rebecca Wilson, Catering & Event Sales Manager When you book a wedding with Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, your experience ...

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 ...

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 ...

Rocking Our World

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

Going Batty!

Ben Leffew, Preserve ManagerLaura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager Bats are an integral, but often overlooked and always misunderstood, part of ...

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 ...

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 ...

Double Your Impact

Shaker Village Board of Trustees Offer Matching Gift Challenge Barry Stumbo, Chief Development Officer The Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill ...

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 ...

Sam Berry, The One-Armed Outlaw

Julia Raimondi, University of Richmond Samuel Oscar Berry was one of many orphans that Shaker merchants brought back to Pleasant ...

Family Tradition

For Ann Bakhaus, supporting Shaker Village has been a family affair. Barry Stumbo, Chief Development Officer Ann Bakhaus, recently elected ...

Re-treat Yourself!

(or, why you should stop meeting in boring locations and host your next company retreat @ Shaker Village!) Sandra Wolcott, ...

Happy Hammering!

Preservation Projects for the Summer of 2019 William Updike, Vice President of Natural and Cultural Resources This is an exciting ...

Milkweed and Monarchs – Oh My!

Ben Leffew, Preserve ManagerLaura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager Monarch butterfly in the Shaker Village Preserve Entering the summer months marks ...

Old Buildings, New Tricks

Sustainability through Geothermal Systems William Updike, Vice President of Natural and Cultural Resources Shaker Village is on a mission to ...

In Remembrance

Pleasant Hill bears witness to the Civil War Jacob Glover, PhD, Program Manager “Such a day as this has never ...

Hidden Harvest

J. Michael Moore, Farm Manager As you drive the countryside and croplands of Kentucky, there’s something new appearing on the ...

Seeing Double

Aaron Genton, Collections Manager One day earlier this week, I had a chance to see all of the Pleasant Hill ...

Reflections of an Early Board Member

Edith S. Bingham We were driving through Shakertown. It was in 1964 or ’65, when the state road ran right ...

50 Years of Service

Brenda Roseman It's Friday, August 1, 1969. Richard Nixon is President. Neil Armstrong has just become the first human to ...

Doorways Through Time

How often do you stop to admire a door, when passing from one room to another? If you are like ...

Best Hoof Forward

Gabby Kreinbrook, Equine and Stable Assistant February is always an exciting time as we come to the close (hopefully) of ...

Fields of Fire

Ben Leffew, Preserve ManagerLaura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager We're happy to report that on February 26 and 27 Shaker Village ...

Sister Mary, Remembered

Maggie McAdams, Assistant Program Manager Gender equality was, and is, a hallmark of Shaker belief. In modern times, much of ...

Of Ducks and Dirt

J Dylan Kennedy, Farm Manager During these last weeks of winter, feeding animals becomes our most regular, and important daily ...

Herd at Work

J Dylan Kennedy, Farm Manager The latest news on the farm is pretty big for us. Our resident cattle herd ...

“Marking” Time

Aaron Genton, Collections Manager The Pleasant Hill Shakers were known for their production of silk products. We have another set ...

A Visitor’s Account, 1879

Aaron Genton, Collections Manager I’m sharing this visitor's account because I really like the description of the natural landscape given ...

From a Shaker Village Supporter…

Barbara Huelette with Shaker Village VP William Updike, in front of the 1811 Old Stone Shop. “We make you kindly ...

Harrowing History at Pleasant Hill

It’s that time of year when everyone is in a spooky mood. If you want to take part in the ...

50 Things To Do at Shaker Village

Shaker Village opened its doors to guests from around the world in April 1968. Fifty years later, we celebrate those ...

Community Sing at the Meeting House

On September 8, 2018, we held a Community Sing in the Meeting House to sing this amazing space back into ...

Rocks that say 1813 and other cool facts

In the changing historic landscape of Pleasant Hill, buildings came and buildings went. It’s impossible to view the photographic and ...

It’s Harvest Time!

What do you know about sorghum? Enjoying sticky sorghum over warm, buttered cornbread is kind of like satiating Kentucky’s first ...

The Meeting House is Open!

Big news! The Meeting House has reopened. You may remember that we've been doing preservation work on it since last ...

Keeping Our (Horses) Cool

Much like the Shakers, our farmers use draft horses to provide horsepower for a variety of purposes—to work the sorghum ...

Growing Ideas at Shaker Village

Being the farm manager at Shaker Village is a pretty good gig for someone who wakes up and goes to ...

Dixie Huffman Retires

After 46 years of employment with Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Dixie Huffman is retiring. While that is a remarkable ...

Recipe: Rose Old Fashioned

Our official connection to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail might be recent, but the Shakers processed and distilled herbs and plants ...

In the Words of Henry Daily…

The journals kept by the Shakers have a lot of information in them, and most of it is very basic ...

Preservation@Work: The Belfry

As part of our current preservation project on the Centre Family Dwelling, the bell tower has been removed via crane! ...

Celebrating 50 Years

Shaker Village, the nonprofit organization, opened its doors to guests from around the world in April 1968. By the end ...

If These Shoes Could Talk…

If you’ve been down to the Shaker Modern exhibit in the East Family buildings, you’ve seen a bunch of old ...

Grab Your Hard Hat!

When was the last time you visited Shaker Village? There's A LOT happening around here. And we aren't just talking ...

Let’s Get Gardening!

As winters sits behind us (thank goodness!) and spring begins to show its face, it’s time to start thinking about ...

Spring has Sprung at Shaker Village

Don’t be fooled by the weather–spring is here! The calendar says March 20 is the very first day of spring, but ...

Cocktail Recipe: Slowing Thyme

With just a few warm days around the Village, we're quickly getting excited for spring. Spring means baby animals, goodies ...

A Giveaway You’ll Love…

Still hunting for that perfect Valentine's Day gift? Enter to win two tickets to a Fresh Food Adventure at Shaker ...

2017 Shaker Village Gift Guide

It's time to make your list and check it twice! We've got a little something for everyone on your shopping ...

A Shaker Guide to Hosting at the Holidays

While it may come as a surprise to some, turns out, the Shakers knew how to enjoy the holiday season ...

Bird Banding 101

Just like every department, The Preserve team has unique ways in measuring successes for Shaker Village. Since we started converting ...

What’s that Noise?

NOTICE: PRESERVATION@WORK Geothermal drilling will commence no earlier than 8:30 a.m. and will cease no later than 6 p.m. each ...

How does Shaker Village inspire you? Five ways to show your support.

Shaker Village is on a mission to inspire generations through discovery by sharing the legacies of the Kentucky Shakers. But, ...

Fall Favorites

Ok, so you've probably heard us say that every season at Shaker Village is our favorite. We've found it to ...

Recipe: Zucchini + Squash Pickles

We have an abundance of patty-pan squash coming in from the garden this year, and we hear we aren't the ...

Maker Spotlight: Smoke & Spirits

Business: Smoke & Spirits Owners: Matt and Chrissy Rippetoe Website: shopsmokeandspirits.com Have you ever been a vendor at the Shaker Village Craft Fair? ...

A Modern View

Shaker Modern: a new interpretive platform that sheds light on the enduring appeal of Shaker lessons and their influences on ...

It’s Moving Day!

Most of us groan at the mention of the word "moving." Imagine the thought of emptying a 21,500-square-foot building! Four floors ...

Your Shaker Village Summer Bucket List

In celebration of 225 years of statehood, Shaker Village and other destinations across the Commonwealth have been included on Kentucky ...

Celebrating 225 Years of Kentucky

On June 1, 1792, Kentucky entered the union as the nation’s 15th state. While Shaker missionaries wouldn’t grace the borders ...

Plain, Simple and Painstaking: Preserving a Village, One Paperclip at a Time

Preservation has been central to the mission of Shaker Village from the time of its incorporation in 1961 and has ...

This Place Matters

May is Preservation Month, and we are ready to celebrate! Everyone has places that are important to them. Places they ...

Welcome Center Opening this Summer

The 1815 Carpenters’ Shop has held a front row seat to Kentucky history in action. (Learn more...) This spring, the ...

Explorer Summer Camp

With the rainy Derby season upon us, it's hard to think that Summer is just around the corner. We're excited ...

Preservation@Work

It's almost Preservation Month, and preserving Shaker Village is no small task! The Shakers built more than 260 structures during their time here, and ...

The Discovery Garden

With big changes coming to the Centre Family Dwelling this summer, we had to find a new home for our ...

We set The Preserve on fire!

If you were driving through Central Kentucky last week, you may have noticed some smoke coming from our way. Don't ...

The Carpenters’ Shop is getting some TLC!

Built in 1815 as a smith and wagon makers’ shop, the red brick Carpenters’ Shop has held a front-row seat ...

5 Things You Don’t Know About The Inn

Shaker Village has been a warm beacon of hospitality for more than 200 years. The Shakers used to host travelers ...

The Face of the Newborn Year

The presence of babies isn’t something you would expect to find in the records of a Shaker archive, and yet ...

An Illuminated Village

If you've ever been to Shaker Village after sunset, you know it gets dark. Really dark. While we relish in ...

Shaker Village Gift Guide

As the holidays quickly approach, we've got a little something for everyone on your shopping list! From adventures at Shaker ...

Good Giving Inspires Great Things

The Pleasant Hill Shakers quietly blazed their own trail, while challenging perspectives on the Kentucky frontier for more than 100 ...

Those Who Served

The Shakers believed in practicing non-violence and abstention from war, or pacifism, which makes images like this—an immigrant Shaker in ...

Hello, November

We set The Preserve on fire! Every year, Shaker Village fields are managed on a 2-year fire rotation to maximize ...

Opulent Okra

As fall rapidly approaches, the summer stalwarts of the garden often choose to go out with a bang. Tomatoes ripen ...

Pleasant Hill Personalities

The legacy of the Pleasant Hill Shaker community has often been assessed exclusively through their material culture. However, each physical ...

From the Archivist

There’s something special about October at Shaker Village! From the moment you step onto the property, you can sense it—something ...

Hair-raising History

Tales of lunacy, danger, persecution, brawls and even death were recorded in harrowing detail by the Pleasant Hill Shakers throughout ...

Pausing for Thought at Shaker Village

We have exciting news! For the first time in its series history, Live From Lincoln Center takes its show on ...

Save the Monarchs

Each fall, hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies migrate from the United States to warmer southern regions. The monarch migration ...

Great things happen here.

Our staff works hard every day to inspire you! You’ve likely met many of them—Dylan in the garden, Brad in ...