Hancock Shaker Village

As I said, last week-end Ed and I went up to Massachusetts for fun. We stayed a lovely little hotel (Hotel on North) that was two old converted office buildings. It was nice.

Then, without a plan, Ed suggested we go to the Hancock Shaker Village just up the road. Not knowing anything about it, we went. It was fun and interesting.

So the "Shakers" were so named almost as a joke. They were referred to as "Shaking Quakers" due to the similarity to Quaker beliefs, i.e. communal living, dedication to non-violence and self-removal from then contemporary city life. Just like Mormons are technically Church of Later Day Saints adherents - the Shakers were technically The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing.

But, they also believed in celibacy. Despite the celibacy thing, they are considered the longest lasting communal utopian communities of all time. They were founded in England and came to American in 1741. While most of the communities dwindled starting with the opening and new opportunities in the West, it kept this particular community open until 1959.

At its peak, the Hancock Village had 300 members. Most from conversions, although they would also sponsor orphaned children as well. I will just copy their comments on the end of the village.

 "Eventually, forces outside the community, including the industrial revolution and the shifting of America from a rural to an urban society, worked against their continued growth and stability. By the early 1900s, with dwindling converts, the Shaker population at Hancock declined to about 50 Believers, most of them Sisters and orphan girls who had been adopted by the community, and only a few adult Brethren.

Many outlying acres of land were sold off, and buildings were razed during the final decades of the Hancock community. In 1959, when the Shakers could no longer maintain their City of Peace, they sold the remaining property to a local group committed to preserving the Shaker heritage. The utopian village known as Hancock Shaker Village continues its life today as a history museum with 20 authentic buildings, a working farm and significant collections of Shaker furniture and artifacts."

Images below and explanations are from me - don't hold the Village accountable to misspelling.

This is the Round Barn.

We went in here to the sounds of the loudest freaking sheep I ever heard! It was feeding time and they were ready. There were also some pigs and piglets, donkeys, and goats. The barn interior itself was cool (temperature). It is round because the brick part was two levels. Lower level for he cows inside. But the upper level was accessible from the other side of the barn. The Shakers would pull trailers of hay into the second level, drive around the barn's interior and push the hay inside the middle. Thus the middle of the barn was full of hay, that animals could simple eat form the bottom.

Shaker Chairs

Yes, the village also made a lot of Shaker Furniture. This is where the "Shaker" style came from originally. Once you toured the meeting and sleeping rooms, you saw the furniture inside the house.

The rare "Leopard Pig"*

There were a number of piglets there and I thought they were very cute.

The Blacksmith House

Shakers had their own resources all over. This was the blacksmith studio. Here a man is working in traditional style, he is using the bellows to make the fire hotter. Burning wood, charcoal and coke the fire could get up to 3,000 degrees. He showed us how to mold metal.

The Factory

To the right (the side paneled part of the building) was the oldest part of the farm. It was built over springs and so had water power. Once the village grew, they expanded this building and put int he washing facilities and the metal works that needed power. It was all powered by belts inside.

The Living House.

This was the largest of the 5 dwellings and the only one still standing. The basement housed the kitchens and canning rooms. The first floor towards us was the dining hall. They all ate together, but with Brethren (men) on the east side and Sisters (women) on the west side.

On the far side of the first floor was the "church" But for them "church" was pews where they would pray, sing and dance to praise the lord. Kind of a Karaoke Church.

Upstairs were many communal bedrooms. Each housed 5 men or women.

*Pysch, there is no "Leopard Pig". Just one cute ass little piglet.