A Step Back in Time

Monday, May 8…

Art was an important
element in Shaker culture.

‘Tis the gift to be simple…  and to work really hard. Today we visited Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, near Lexington, KY.

“The Shakers’ mission was to live a perfect Christian life as portrayed in the Gospels and in the early Christian communities. The Shakers based their religion and their lives on celibacy, communal living, and the confession of sin. They attempted to attain spiritual and temporal simplicity, pacifism and perfection in all aspects of their lives.

Those outside the faith… referred to them as Shakers due to the whirling and shaking and other ecstatic movements [including speaking in tongues] that would sometimes overcome the Believers during worship. Dancing was a key expression of Shaker spirituality, and was often described as a... physical means through which the Believers could shake off their sins.“ (hancockshakervillage.org)

Spiral Staircase in Trustee House

From 1805-1910, a small group of these unique Christians developed a thriving, self-sufficient community south of Lexington. Prior to the Civil War, residents numbered nearly 500. The Civil War depleted both their ranks and their resources, however, and the settlement never recovered. It was dissolved in 1910, and the last member died in 1923. Almost 40 years later, serious efforts were begun to restore as many buildings as possible. Today, 3000 acres (half the property at its peak) have been reclaimed, many significant buildings have been restored, and an ongoing preservation plan is firmly in place.

Centre Family House
(separate entrances for men & women)

Side view (and still not the entire bldg)

Greg & I hadn't paid much attention to anything but the front as the guide talked to us. When we went inside, however, we were blown away by how rooms deep it was. (Afterwards, when we wandered the side yard, it was obvious. We estimated about there must be at least 13,000 sf inside.)  Lots of bedrooms (2 beds/room), work rooms (spinning, broom making, etc), Every room had dozens of pegs along a high rail for hanging clothing, candle holders, tools, pictures, etc. Basement had kitchen, storage, ice chest, dining area. And lots more I can't remember. Certainly impressive. Running water in the kitchen (gravity fed from a water tank filled from a spring. These folks were way ahead in several areas of technology & engineering.

Not the part of the river we're cruising,
but a great shot of the palisades. 

After lunch we (and about 50 school kids) boarded a small paddle wheeler and cruised a section of the Kentucky River. Which brings me to the geology of Kentucky. "Wherever you dig, you hit rock. Limestone." Limestone is the lifeblood of this area. Because the land is hilly, roads are cut through the rock, leaving palisades exposed on each side. The rock is used everywhere. Horse farms have fences, but often there's also a low stone wall between the fence and the highway. (more on limestone tomorrow)

This section of the river is controlled
by locks to make it more navigable.

Attic of the Shaker Meeting House. Greg
checked out the no-nails construction.

Just one more bit of Shaker info: 'Shakers worshiped in meetinghouses painted white and unadorned; pulpits and decorations were eschewed as worldly things. In meeting, they marched, sang, danced, and sometimes turned, twitched, jerked, or shouted. The earliest Shaker worship services were unstructured, loud, chaotic and emotional. However, Shakers later developed precisely choreographed dances and orderly marches accompanied by symbolic gestures." (wikipedia)  

(Tension beams are the vertical ones.)

Because this worship was so physical in nature, the main floor of the meetinghouse (roughly 1200sf) needed to be completely open - no interior supports for the upper floor. This was accomplished by suspending both the first floor ceiling and the upper floor from vertical tension beams attached to the roof trusses with dovetail joints. The dance floor itself also had multiple inner supporting foundation walls. These folks really thought things through.