History Archives - Village@work

Searching for Sister Mary

March 17, 2023Billy Rankin

Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager

Who was Sister Mary, and why are we trying to find her?

A born storyteller, Sister Mary Settles was by all accounts well read, well written, and loved to talk. She had a knack for effective, entertaining, and engaging communication.

“One of a few brilliant conversationalists now living. She will not only talk for publication but she does it so entertainingly and so accurately, that your only trouble lies in being able to keep up with the facts and dates, for which she has an alarming memory.” – Ella Hutchinson Ellwanger, 1919

Sister Mary arrived at Pleasant Hill in 1859 as a single mother of two young children. She claimed to be a widow, but records indicate that her husband, Frank Settles was still living at the time and married another woman in the early 1860s. No matter the circumstance surrounding her arrival, she found a refuge at Pleasant Hill and a place to call home for the final 64 years of her life.

Pleasant Hill’s Last Shaker

Sister Mary took on many roles in the community, notably as a leader and an educator, but one title often overshadows the rest, she was the very last Pleasant Hill Shaker. As the 19^th century came to a close, the population of Pleasant Hill was dwindling. The Shakers decided to close the covenant in 1910, meaning they would no longer accept new members. With only twelve Shakers left, including Sister Mary, it was challenging to maintain buildings and grounds, so they deeded their property to a local businessman in exchange for his care in the final years of their lives. With this agreement, the remaining Shakers ensured that they would receive the care and support that they needed. With the buildings in private hands, more hotels and restaurants began to open, and more visitors started to pass through.

A Local Celebrity

Automobile tourism in the 1910s and 1920s meant that people were looking for countryside attractions, and this opened a new world of activity at Pleasant Hill. This coupled with a natural curiosity felt toward the Shaker sect, as communities were waning throughout the U.S. during this time.

Because of this increased visitation, Sister Mary became a local celebrity and tourist attraction. With the passing of Brother William Pennebaker in 1922, her status as the last Pleasant Hill Shaker only intensified the public’s fascination with her and the community. Luckily for Sister Mary and the visitors alike, she was always ready for a good conversation.

At a time when the community and the religion were fading around her, and the world was closing in, Sister Mary decided to spend her time helping curious people of the world understand her way of life. She welcomed questions on the Shaker faith and kept up with the daily newspapers so that she could voice her opinion on all manner of topics. She eagerly contributed to discussions on women’s suffrage and when asked if she voted in the 1920 election, she claimed, “Of course, isn’t the equality of women part of our religion?” – The Courier Journal Sun, November 21, 1920. She lent her voice where she could, and she used her celebrity platform as a tool to educate and instruct, as any teacher would.

Sister Mary, Remembered

Sister Mary passed away on March 29, 1923, so on the centennial anniversary of her death, we ask, how should Sister Mary be remembered? By who she was, by where she lived, by what she did, or by how she made people feel?

At Shaker Village, we believe that studying the history of the Shakers, of Pleasant Hill, and of individuals like Sister Mary gives us perspective on our own beliefs, roles, and identities. Which begs the question: How will you be remembered?

Join us in exploring Sister Mary’s life at Pleasant Hill in our upcoming exhibit, Searching for Sister Mary located on the second floor of Center Family Dwelling.

Holding Up The Mirror

April 17, 2021Billy Rankin

Billy Rankin, VP of Public Programming and Marketing

This is the fourth part of our behind-the-scenes look at the development of Local Economies, Global Impacts, a new exhibition that will open this summer at Shaker Village.

In previous posts we introduced three main goals that the team at Shaker Village keep in mind when developing any new exhibit:

Today we’re going to dive into the third goal: Be Relevant.

A recent rendering for the exhibition Local Economies, Global Impacts.

Universal Concepts

“Any interpretation that does not somehow relate what is being displayed or described to something within the personality or experience of the visitor will be sterile.” – Freeman Tildan

There are some things that all of us have in common. We all need water to survive. We all breath air. We interact with other humans. We all have some belief, or a system of values, that inform our lives.

Finding these common threads, or “universal” concepts, can build a bridge between your own experience and the experience of someone else.

Here’s an example relevant to our upcoming exhibit. I’m willing to bet that right now you are probably wearing clothes. (If you aren’t, let’s just keep that to yourself for now!)

Since you are wearing clothes, you are part of the textile industry.

Wool, linen and silk were the most prevalent textiles used for clothing and other needs at Pleasant Hill. The Shakers raised flocks of sheep for wool, fields of flax for linen and silk worms for their silk. They knew exactly where their resources were coming from, and how much was used each year.

Today, we are part of a global textile market. You probably don’t know where your shirt was made without checking the tag. It was also likely made in a place that you have never visited. And yet, we are still part of the same overall system, though on a larger scale, that the Shakers were part of. This will be true for every visitor to this exhibit.

Detailed specifications are used to design the cases, platforms and interactives for Local Economies, Global Impacts.

The Unexamined Life

Okay, so big deal. I wear clothes. The Shakers wore clothes. Is this supposed to be some sort of revelation?

Not exactly. It’s really just a foot in the door. The next steps are what really matter.

By interpreting universal concepts we are attempting to lead our visitors to two important considerations. The first is simply to take interest in how someone other than yourself has lived. This can require some level of empathy, and if the story is compelling and relatable you are more likely to care. Learning how to care about others, or at least take some interest in their lives, is a noble endeavor.

The second consideration we are guiding our guests toward is the examination of their own life. As I said in our last exhibit blog post – It’s not actually about the Shakers. It’s about you.

Many who proclaim a love of history enjoy the study of things that have already happened simply because they have already happened. There’s some security in that thought.

The more challenging, but infinitely more fulfilling approach to studying history is to actually learn from it. Not just names and dates. By learning the successes, struggles, beliefs and compromises of those who have come before us we build the mirror with which we can examine ourselves.

Local Economies, Global Impacts

Global markets are immensely detailed and complicated to understand. However, the basics of managing resources, production and trade have really not changed so much since the time of the Shakers at Pleasant Hill. In addition to the textile industry, our upcoming exhibit will tell the stories of the broom industry, Shaker mills and shops, trading routes, market places and Pleasant Hill’s business leaders.

When visiting the exhibit after it opens this summer, put yourself in the place of the Shakers. How would you handle situations they faced? What role might you play? When looking at your life today through this lens, do you discover anything about yourself?

Next Month: We’ll go behind-the-scenes for the fabrication of exhibit features for Local Economies, Global Impacts.

Local Economies, Global Impacts is funded in part through a Museums for America matching grant, administered by the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

Today in Pleasant Hill History

January 24, 2021Shaker Village

Jacob Glover, PhD, Director of Public Programs and Education

On January 24, 1871, Pleasant Hill took the step of expelling a family of seven from their ranks. Interestingly enough, this newsworthy note is intermingled amongst more practical concerns in a Shaker journal:

Trip – El. H. L. Eades started for South Union via Lebanon. See 13th inst

Expelled – The Morrison family from the Society. Minerva the mother & Henry from the West Lot, & Hiram, Jacob, Leah, Belle & Ginny from the Center Family. See March 7, l870.

Trip – H. Daily went to Lexington with two wagons, & returned the following day.

*LTR: James Shelton, John Pilkington, Henry Daily, Francis P., Napoleaon Brown. Girls unknown.*

As the entry reveals, this expulsion had evidently been in the works for a rather long time! Going back to review that entry from March 1870:

“Mon. 7 Sent Away – The Widow Morrison family – who came some time since from the Mouth of Salt River viz. the Mother Manerva Ann & children William J. Morrison, Jacob T. Leah Ann, Sarah Isabel, Mary Jane & Henry William Morrison. the Mother & youngest from the West Lot. The rest from Centre all went on board the Boat for Louisville thence to their home.”

That’s all the Shakers wrote. It makes one wonder exactly what they had done to be “sent away” and “expelled” during a time of general population decline at Pleasant Hill.

Pieces of Pleasant Hill: Objects + Stories

August 5, 2020Shaker Village

By Maggie McAdams, Education and Engagement Manager

Do you have a favorite Shaker artifact? When you think of Pleasant Hill, do any special objects come to mind? If you could pick one word to describe Pleasant Hill or the Shakers, what word would that be?

Trying to pick one word or one artifact can be challenging, but it is a fun exercise because it can help to clarify what the Shakers mean to you personally. Every artifact offers visitors an opportunity to connect with the Pleasant Hill story, and our latest exhibit, Pieces of Pleasant Hill: Objects + Stories, helps to establish these relevant connections.

Pieces of Pleasant Hill: Objects + Stories highlights Shaker Village’s artifact and archival collection, and encourages visitors to think critically about what, and why, we collect. Featuring over 20 artifacts, this exhibit will help visitors piece together the Pleasant Hill story by not only exploring the objects left behind, but by considering why they matter. The Shakers called Pleasant Hill home for over a century, and their diverse individual experiences left us with a collection that is equally varied and diverse.

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill was founded in 1961 to “collect, preserve, and display the records, artifacts, tools, and products of the Shaker community.” Today, Shaker Village actively maintains 34 historic structures, 25 miles of rock walls, 3,000 acres of original Shaker land, and over 7,000 objects and documents! The Pleasant Hill Shakers have a fascinating story to tell, but how do we, as a museum, tell that story?

Shaker material culture, particularly Shaker furniture, is often the point of entry into the Shaker story for many visitors. Pieces of Shaker furniture were the first artifacts to be collected and studied by early 20^th century Shaker scholars. Furniture was so heavily studied and written about that it became the focal point for discussions on the Shakers for much of the 20^th century, much to the chagrin of Shaker Mildred Barker, who famously stated, “I almost expect to be remembered as a chair.”

*Shaker chairs featured in the new exhibit.*

While furniture and furniture making were important components of the Shaker experience, there is so much more to the story. This new exhibit features Shaker furniture along with additional artifacts from the collection to emphasize the importance of analyzing objects to understand their significance to the history of the community. By digging deeper into these artifacts, and uncovering the personal stories behind them, we can explore the dynamic nature of this community.

The exhibit will lead visitors through a series of questions that address the artifacts themselves and the scope of the collection as a whole. Guests will also be encouraged to get involved in the research process to uncover the individuals and stories behind our artifacts. In doing so, we hope that visitors will understand not only how the artifacts fit into the larger Pleasant Hill story, but also how these stories help build meaningful connections with their own lives.

Every artifact has a story to tell, you just have to know what questions to ask.

Join us as we examine the importance of artifacts, and the ways in which we can use them to understand more about life in this community!

This project is supported with funding from the Kentucky Local History Trust Fund (KRS 171.325), a program administered by the Kentucky Historical Society. For more information, see history.ky.gov/local-history-fund

A Gift to be Simple

July 10, 2020Shaker Village

Maggie McAdams, Assistant Program Manager

“’Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free, ‘tis a gift to come down where you ought to be…”

*The effortless spiral of The Trustees’ Office staircase, Pleasant Hill, KY.*

Simplicity has become synonymous with the Shaker experience – as has the song Simple Gifts, emphasis on simple. The most obvious visible manifestation of the Shaker legacy of simplicity can be seen today in the form and function of their architecture and furniture, but in reality this value infused all aspects of the Shaker’s life. What we see, however, was far from simple to achieve.

Today, the word simple has come to mean plain or easily done, basic or uncomplicated, but for the Shakers, it meant something so much more.

The Shakers considered simplicity to be a sacred gift, one that members worked their entire lives to achieve. Simplicity to the shakers meant modesty and humility, and was a constant reminder to focus on faith and their spiritual path.

In music written for Shaker worship, simplicity is often portrayed as a willow tree, humbly bowing, and bending, and being open to accept God’s gifts.

“I will bow and be simple, I will bow and be free, I will bow and be humble, yea, bow like the willow tree.”

*Shaker side chairs hang on pegs to reduce clutter, and to keep the space clean, Centre Family Dwelling, Pleasant Hill, KY.*

Themes of simplicity can also be found in the Millennial Laws, the rules that the Shakers lived by. Upon entering the Pleasant Hill community, members deeded their personal possessions to the society, and were given modest goods and attire to meet their basic needs.

All members lived communally and supported one another. To live simply meant to shed all excess and focus on the inward path of the soul, rather than on pride and vanity and material goods.

Hand labor was thought to be good for the soul, and craftsmanship in this way became a symbol for moving closer to God. “Put your hands to work, and your hearts to God.”

Detail view of the built-in dresser on the third floor of Centre Family Dwelling,
Pleasant Hill, KY.

To create a perfect piece of furniture was not an aesthetic pursuit, but a spiritual one. Craftsmanship was not perfected for personal gain or glory, and the difficult process helped to teach members humility. The Millennial Laws reiterated this by prohibiting signatures and unnecessary markings on items of manufacture so that the end product would not distract from the process and utility of the piece.

*The spiral staircase winds up three floors, and ends with a dome of light brought in by the dormer windows.*

The Shakers wasted no design detail, and even their structures were built based upon functionality. As a result they appear quite simple. The peg lined walls, the large built-in cupboards, and the spacious floors of the dwelling houses – it took thoughtful design to create such orderly and simple spaces.

At Pleasant Hill, the dual spiral staircase in the Trustees’ Office is the perfect juxtaposition between the simple and the complex, as what appears to flow upward with such ease hides the intricacy that lies just beneath the surface.

Accessible through a stairwell door, the heavy structure that supports the staircase is an impressive work of engineering. The technical elements (like the massive timbers and the cantilevered steps), however, are concealed in favor of the simple and graceful free flowing aesthetic. What we are left with in the upward movement of the staircase is the embodiment of simplicity, of elevating the spirit toward the light.

*Hidden beneath the simple exterior are the structural components of the spiral staircase, Trustees’ Office, Pleasant Hill, KY.*

The next time you see the Trustees’ Office staircase, or a piece of Shaker furniture, or you hum the tune to Simple Gifts, or you hear the lines ”When true simplicity is gained,” remember that true simplicity was hard to achieve – but that’s what made it so worth striving toward.

Simplicity is a gift.