Several years ago, when we first moved to New Hampshire, my aunt came to visit us, and we needed an interesting place to take her. She was in her mid-sixties at the time, and not real interested in going to the local bar to do shots, so we had to find some place interesting – and at least somewhat wholesome – to take her. We decided to take her to the Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, New Hampshire. Personally, I thought that we were looking at a long day of dullness in the name of entertaining my aunt, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
In 1792, followers of the founder of the Shakers – Mother Ann Lee – formed the seventh Shaker community in Canterbury, New Hampshire. At the height of the Canterbury Shaker Village’s success – in the 1850’s – there were 300 people living and working in over 100 buildings on the 300 acres that made up the village. The Canterbury Shaker Village remained a prominent Shaker village for 200 years, but has operated as a museum since 1992 when the last Shaker ‘sister’ who lived there – Ethel Hudson – passed away.
The Shakers were formed in the 1700’s when members of the English Quakers and Methodists broke away and formed a religious society that was formally known as the United Society of Believers. Because of their use of dance in worship, they became known as the ‘Shaking Quakers’, or the ‘Shakers’. Among their beliefs that ran against the beliefs of mainstream religion of the time were the belief in community ownership, pacifism, celibacy, and equality of the sexes. The dancing – also considered extremely strange, if not sinful, by other religions – was considered by the Shakers to signify a communal relationship with God.
The Shakers were entrepreneurs and launched many industries. They developed and adopted new technology, and it is said that if the Shakers still existed as a group today, they would all have computers and even cell phones. Heck, they might have invented them.
In 1774, eight members of the ‘Society’ immigrated to New York where they recruited more members into their religion. By the 1850’s, over 5,000 Shakers lived in communities that ranged from Kentucky to Maine. Their numbers were so high, despite the celibacy, because they adopted many children that were left as orphans, or whose parents could not afford to care for them.
By 1900, due to the practice of celibacy and various other factors, there were only 100 Shaker Sisters and a few Shaker Brothers left. Today, the last active Shaker village is Sabbathday Lake in New Glouster, Maine. They hold worship services every Sunday and welcome any and all to attend.
If you find a chance to visit the Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire, do not miss it! The tour guides are wonderful and tell fascinating stories. The restored buildings are fascinating, and you will be astounded at some of the things these interesting people invented and how they lived their lives.
