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Your Shaker Village Summer Bucket List

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In celebration of 225 years of statehood, Shaker Village and other destinations across the Commonwealth have been included on Kentucky Tourism’s Kentucky Bucket List. While the Shaker Village bucket list could indeed be endless, here a few things we don’t want you to miss this summer:

Join us for Well Crafted: Brews + Bands. Hurry, it’s this weekend! Sample more than 40 brews in the craft beer tent, while enjoying live music on two stages. Tickets are just $25.

Cruise under High Bridge aboard the Dixie Belle. Enjoy a relaxing ride aboard Shaker Village’s 115-passenger Dixie Belle Riverboat through high limestone cliffs and untouched natural beauty.

Check out Music on the Lawn! Every Friday and Saturday night through October, The Trustees’ Table Lawn features live music around the fire pits with specialty cocktails, drinks and yard games for the young at heart.

Bring the kids! There are farm animals to meet, creeks to play in and tons of places to explore around here. Kids Stay, Play + Eat Free during June and July, so plan your family getaway soon.

Try something new. Paddle + Yoga days are July 8 and 22. Join us for a special day of paddling and yoga activities, like Hike + Yoga, Candlelight Yoga, Glow Paddle Night Tours and more. Participate in one activity, or choose several for a full day of adventure—the choice is yours.

Spend the evening in search of your favorite brews at our Hike for Beer on July 8. Enjoy a short hike to a secret location for a summertime bash complete with good tunes and local brews.

Save the date for our annual Craft Fair on August 5 and 6.

Not featured on this list are weekend wagon rides, hiking, our garden volunteer program, new exhibits and daily adventures, Discovery Treks and SO MUCH MORE. Next time you’re at the Village, see what you can knock off of your bucket list. Share your Shaker Village adventures with us by using #shakervillageky!

Celebrating 225 Years of Kentucky

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On June 1, 1792, Kentucky entered the union as the nation’s 15th state. While Shaker missionaries wouldn’t grace the borders of the Commonwealth for another 13 years, by 1792, one of Kentucky’s future Shaker converts was already living on the tract of land which would eventually serve as the birthplace of the Pleasant Hill community. Elisha Thomas and his family owned “140 acres of land considerably improved on either side of Shawnee Run,” where, in 1806, the first members of what became the Society of Pleasant Hill initially gathered and “opened their minds” to the Shaker faith.[1]

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division

Here, they built the community’s first meeting house, which, despite looking more like a stand than a proper assembly hall, served as the Shakers’ first place of worship. Soon the fledgling group of Shaker converts settled upon a more permanent place to accommodate the needs of their growing community. For more than a century, their new location—just 1.5 miles up the hill to where the Village now stands today—welcomed more than 2,400 Kentuckians, immigrants, wayfarers and settlers from no less than 50 Kentucky counties, 13 countries and 29 states. And today, with a little help from our Trail Map, modern-day guests can see where it all began.

While it’s only about a 1-mile hike from the Centre Trailhead to the geographical genesis of the Pleasant Hill Shakers, in total, the Pelly Trail—the only trail to provide access to the 500 acres of Village property south of US-68—is a 5-mile loop, best suited for hikers and horseback riders. Cyclists are welcome on this moderately difficult trail, but like the other 12 trails on the property, it’s not maintained for mountain biking. This portion of the Village’s 1,200 acres of native prairie can be reached exclusively by traveling through the culvert beneath the highway, so be prepared to get a little wet along the way. [2]

Two hundred twenty-five years after Kentucky forged its way to statehood, this property continues to serve as a gathering ground for families and individuals like Elisha Thomas and Pleasant Hill’s founding members. Here, we’re charged with the stewardship of this property’s natural and historical assets, which is why every day we’re working to conserve the land, preserve the buildings and provide families and individuals (like you!) access to the rich heritage left for us by the Pleasant Hill Shakers and their early-Kentucky predecessors. From maintaining 37 miles of trails throughout The Preserve to undertaking architectural rehabilitation projects in The Historic Centre, we’re on a mission to inspire generations of trailblazers and pioneering spirits, just like those who spearheaded Kentucky’s path to statehood 225 years ago.

Learn more about Kentucky’s path to statehood and other destinations throughout the Commonwealth at the KY 225 Commission’s website, where all Kentucky travelers are encouraged to share their Kentucky 225 anniversary adventures by using #ky225. 

Discover Shaker Village! Become an Annual Passholder and explore with us all year long.

1 Information obtained from The origins and progress of the Society of Pleasant Hill. Original manuscript held by Harrodsburg Historical Society, Harrodsburg, KY.

2 During times of high water, the culvert on the Pelly Trail may become impassible. All explorers who use The Trails at Shaker Village do so at their own risk and must sign in at the The Inn front desk to sign a property usage waiver before hitting the trails.

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

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Preservation has been central to the mission of Shaker Village from the time of its incorporation in 1961 and has been an ongoing effort ever since. Because the Shakers were practitioners of preservation themselves, Shaker Village is fortunate to have surviving portions of the Shakers’ material culture. The documents, artifacts, fences, gravestones, buildings and barns, which are now under our stewardship, require attention, care and frequent preservation. From major rehabilitation projects like the upcoming work planned for the 1824 Centre Family Dwelling and 1820 Meeting House, replacing the roof and renovating the interior of the Carpenters’ Shop and restoring the exterior of West Family Wash House to housing sensitive items of the Collection in a climate-controlled storage facility, at Shaker Village, preservation is always present and always at work.

For loftier undertakings, we may bring in consultants to ensure preservation success; but the day-to-day preservation of the Village’s 3-dimensional and archival materials lies in the hands of our Collections staff. Things like sorting and rehousing piles of newspapers in acid-free boxes, using cloth tape to secure detached book covers to their bindings, removing sticky-notes from book pages, ensuring 3-dimensional objects are stored up off the ground on shelves and platforms, laying textiles flat in secure, tissue-lined cabinets and monitoring objects for pests and mold are all a part of preserving the history of the Shakers.

 

See an original copy of The Manifesto on display in the East Family Wash House as a part of our Shaker Modern exhibit.

But, the preservation of treasured materials isn’t reserved strictly to the professionals: it’s something many folks do every day without even realizing it!

You might not think about it at the time, but when you do something as simple as organize bills or receipts in a filing cabinet, you’re doing something to preserve them for when you may need them down the road. Believe it or not, that’s PRESERVATION@WORK!

Whether it be for the coming months, years or generations, we all have things we’d like to keep for the future. Here are some ways you can put preservation to work in your own life:

  • Keep documents and artifacts in a cool, dry area out of direct sunlight—not in the basement or attic where temperature and humidity can fluctuate with the seasons.
  • Avoid grouping or marking documents using metal paperclips, rubber bands, staples, tape, sticky-notes or dog-earring. While actions like this may seem harmless at the time, they can be damaging to the items you’re trying to preserve. Instead, if documents need to be grouped or marked, use plastic paper clips or acid-free paper and folders.
  • Something as simple as covering furniture with a sheet, quilt or moving blanket can help preserve 3-dimensional objects while in storage.
  • Refrain from sealing photographs, newspaper articles and other paper documents in lamination, non-archival page-protectors or photo sleeves. These types of plastics are more harmful than helpful and will actually result in a more rapid deterioration of what you’re trying to save.
  • Like living creatures, documents and objects need space and room to breathe. Never try to cram items into envelopes, folders, boxes, shelves or tight spaces. Give documents and objects ample space in their storage locations.
  • Less is more. The less you access, handle and use your prized books, documents, artifacts, textiles, furniture and memorabilia, the more time you and future generations of your family will have with them. While handling rare and special items for reference, research and display, it’s best to do so with care, caution and infrequency to ensure their longevity.

Do you have a favorite outfit you just can’t seem to part with? The Shakers did, too! Come see a dress that was rehabilitated over the years by the Shaker who wore it on display in the East Family Wash House as a part of our Shaker Modern exhibit.

Preservation can be painstaking—sometimes a matter of replacing one paperclip at a time. But whether you’re a preservation pupil or pro, it’s often the basics that end up making the greatest difference.

Take part in our history! Join us June 3 to celebrate, as we kick off our largest preservation project since the 1960s. Tour the buildings, speak with the project’s architects and learn about our grant-funded, multi-phase effort to preserve, protect and interpret the Village’s spiritual center.

Make a difference! No matter how big or small, your gift can make a difference. Help us preserve Shaker Village by giving today! 

Emálee Krulish, Archivist

This Place Matters

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May is Preservation Month, and we are ready to celebrate! Everyone has places that are important to them. Places they care about. Places that matter. This Place Matters is a national campaign that encourages people to celebrate the places that are meaningful to them and to their communities. — savingplaces.org

Have you ever wondered what future generations will know about you? Every now and then that thought wanders through my mind. Every generation leaves a legacy—a story of the people who struggled together, found amazing solutions to the perplexing problems of their day and blazed a trail as a foundation for the next generation that was soon to follow.

Too many times our culture seeks to find new answers to old problems. Knowing our forebears, understanding their struggles and embracing their successes help us to move forward. It is true that those who forget history are destined to repeat it.

This place, Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, is replete with the stories of a society dedicated to a common purpose. The lessons that they learned here—the legacy that they left us—teach us how to live together with kindness and respect and to honor the land and the bounty it provides. Their story shouts out from the buildings they created, is captured in the gentle landscape that they loved and oozes from the written record that they left behind.

This place matters because it touches our hearts, encouraging us to be better citizens of this earth—to be people who inspire greatness in others and to be gentle and kind to those who struggle. Each generation leaves something behind. What will you leave behind? This place gives us direction, it inspires us to reach new heights and it gives us comfort to know that together we can build a legacy just as enduring as the one they left us. This place matters. Maynard Crossland

It’s a gathering of guests, co-workers and friends alike. It’s a place where new families are formed, meals are shared and history is made daily. Co-workers gather in the morning to make sure all guests are treated with great hospitality and knowledge of the Shakers who once lived here. It’s a beautiful place where beautiful weddings are performed and families come together. This unique little village is a place I not only call my workplace, but also where my life adventures happen. Wally Bottoms

Shaker Village matters because what the Shakers created should be preserved. Whitney Franklin

It’s more important, and maybe more difficult than ever, for all of us to remember that we’re part of the same village. We’re all in this together. Shaker Village allows us to take a moment to consider how strong we can be when we work as one team—and in balance with the natural world around us. This place inspires us through the example of the Shakers to be our best, together. Billy Rankin

The lives of human beings have changed so much over the last few hundred years that the lifestyles of the Shakers can seem completely irrelevant to our own at first glance. Our connections to our homes—and our land—can easily be overlooked or ignored in today’s high-tech world, but ultimately, our dependence on our physical space is no less real today than it was then. Shaker Village is unique in its ability to connect past and present, to allow the mind to wander freely between the two and with any luck, arrive finally in a future we’d all like to live in. This place matters. Dylan Kennedy

This place matters because the Pleasant Hill Shakers, while gone for nearly a century, are still a relevant group of people today.

This was a place where they looked for solutions to big ideas. The Shakers were here with the question of spiritual perfection in mind. What bigger idea is there than that?! Today, it is a place where both individuals and groups come for inspiration, perhaps from a spiritual standpoint, but often for other reasons. It’s not a stretch to think that big ideas are being tackled here all the time.

It was a home for people who needed a home. The cross-section of different people who came here is striking, and under normal circumstances, I don’t believe that many of these people would have ever crossed tracks. There were single mothers, aristocrats, freed slaves and former soldiers, among many, many others who found their way here. And in many cases, they stayed the rest of their lives. And for those who did leave, they often kept up with those they left behind, often writing letters and visiting periodically. They were family. This was home.

It was a place where they were able to emphasize common humanity of people with whom they strongly disagreed. During the Civil War, large numbers of Union and Confederate soldiers passed through the village. The Shakers were committed to racial equality as an ideal, which would have put them at direct odds with many of the Confederate soldiers who passed through. They were also pacifists, seeing war as an action directly in conflict with Christian identity, and this would have put them directly at odds with any soldier who passed through. Yet, they often experienced soldiers who were starving, injured, ragged and barefoot, and immediately moved to address these needs despite what they might have thought of the ideologies embodied in the uniforms. I think the Shakers teach us that it’s possible to treat those with whom you strongly disagree with a degree of respect and common humanity, and this is one of the more needed lessons in our country today. Aaron Genton

Shaker Village matters to me, because it represents “family.” This is a place that has hosted my family for reunions, day trips,  Mother’s Days, escapes from city life, an experience to share with visiting family and friends, and so much more. Three generations of my family have enjoyed this village and all it has to offer. Now I am enjoying being able to introduce Shaker Village to a fourth generation of my family, by bringing my nieces and nephew out here to explore and meet my work family. Amanda Beverly

Shaker Village matters because it can restore your soul. Brenda Roseman

This place matters because it’s preserving and providing access to the history of a passionate, intelligent, evolving community of people, who woke up, got dressed, went to work, did laundry, mowed the yard, repaired fences, traveled, learned, laughed, cried, grieved, celebrated, made decisions, overcame obstacles and grew as individuals…just like us today. Emálee Krulish

Why does Shaker Village matter to you?

Welcome Center Opening this Summer

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The 1815 Carpenters’ Shop has held a front row seat to Kentucky history in action. (Learn more...) This spring, the building closed for preservation work, including the installation of a new wood shake roof; the repairing and painting of wood soffits, fascias and trim; and the repairing and painting of interior plaster, wood trim and casework.

The project also included refurbishing interior spaces to create a centralized welcome experience for guests. You will have a comfortable one-stop location to check-in, purchase tickets and learn about Village happenings. In addition, new hands-on interpretive and shopping experiences will be introduced inside the space. The project continues the rehabilitation of this important building, while creating a new level of convenience and functionality for guests and staff alike.

Here are some recent photos of the work that’s happening in the Carpenters’ Shop:

What will I find in the Welcome Center?

A little bit of everything! The Welcome Center will be your hub for all Shaker Village activity. The space will house our 24-hour sales and information team, The Inn check-in, an interactive introduction to the Shaker Village mission and message, featured products from The Shops, including signature Shaker oval boxes, logo merchandise and much more. Have a question? This is where it will be answered. Need admission tickets? Need a nice place to cool down? Want to see what’s next on the daily tours and activities schedule? This is your place.

As construction wraps up soon, we look forward to unveiling our new Welcome Center this summer! We hope our guests make a point to visit soon and start your Shaker Village experience from the Carpenters’ Shop. The 1820 Meeting House and the 1824 Centre Family Dwelling are next up for rehabilitation, part of a multi-phase effort to revive our rich cultural landscape, so stay tuned for more information as that project progresses.

Learn more about The Carpenters’ Shop past and future. Plan your visit to Shaker Village.