preservation month

What we refuse to destroy…

Billy Rankin

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Public Programming and Marketing

“In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create, but by what we refuse to destroy.” -John Sawhill

For more than 60 years, our nonprofit organization has been on a mission to preserve the buildings and property that belonged to the Shakers of Pleasant Hill, and to share this unique historic landscape with the public. This mission has not been achieved without struggle. Preserving a historic place presents many challenges, and doing it while also hosting 100,000 visitors each year can be quite a juggling act!

Although we have developed a sustainable, nonprofit model to support the preservation of Pleasant Hill, we are fortunate the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) was passed early in our organization’s history. The layers of protection and support this legislation, and its later amendments, has offered historic properties like Shaker Village cannot be overstated. As Preservation Month comes to a close, it seems appropriate to take a moment to reflect on some of the designations this legislation provided that have impacted our mission.

The National Register of
Historic Places

The NHPA legislated the creation of the National Register of Historic Places. Designation on this list provides national recognition to a historic property, even if the scope of its story may be deemed to be local or regional. Listing on the National Register can provide certain federal incentives, though it doesn’t inherently protect a property or building from alterations, or even demolition.

The Centre Family Dwelling underwent preservation work in 2018.

There are currently 95,000 properties listed on the National Register, with over 1.4 million individual historic resources identified on those properties. You can search the National Register Database here.

While Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, when our organization was added in 1971 we were also made part of a much more exclusive club…

National Historic Landmarks

National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) are properties that have national historic significance. These properties have exceptional value, or quality, and represent a special category of designated historic structures.

There are currently just over 2,600 NHLs in the country (32 in Kentucky) representing less than 3% of National Register properties. Other NHLs include places like Mount Vernon, Alcatraz, Pearl Harbor and Graceland. Search for National Historic Landmarks here.

Aerial view of Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill.

While, similar to the National Register listing, being an NHL doesn’t necessarily protect a property from alterations, or even demolition, the listing does create a buffer against a number of state and federal intrusions. It also creates an increased awareness of the property’s value to our nation’s cultural history.

The nomination process for both the National Register and to become an NHL can be extensive. In 1971 Shaker Village’s full nomination totaled 360 pages! A few dozen of those pages were photos, but still, wow! Nominations are archived online, so if you have some time on your hands it’s interesting, and inspirational to read Shaker Village’s nomination form. So many people have given so much of their time and talent so that this incredible place can be passed on from generation to generation. It’s almost overwhelming to think about.

This Place Matters

At the beginning of this post, I mentioned the “juggling act” that can take place when trying to balance preservation and public access. There’s no doubt that visitor usage can add wear and tear to any property, particularly historic properties. But, we must always remember why we preserve this history. If we don’t share the story Pleasant Hill has to tell, we aren’t accomplishing our full mission. And if we don’t inspire future generations with this story, then who will care about Pleasant Hill when we are gone?

Visitors tour the historic turnpike at Pleasant Hill.

Ultimately, while national designations and legislation can provide layers of protection, the preservation of our historic places is an action undertaken by us every day. It must be undertaken relentlessly and with enthusiasm, because once a place like Pleasant Hill is lost, it can never be replaced.

So, as Preservation Month comes to a close, we thank all of our guests, hikers, diners, shoppers, donors, sponsors, vendors, staff and volunteers for helping to preserve Kentucky’s largest National Historic Landmark, each in your own way.

Learn more about how you can support Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill.

Bibliography

Tyler, Norman, Ted J. Ligibel, and Ilene R. Tyler. Historic Preservation, 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2009.

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

shakerblog

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

shakerblog

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?