Shaker Village, Canterbury, New Hampshire

"Hands to Work, Hearts to God"

These six words are the essence of Shaker life

Shaker beliefs: The Shakers in America lived a communal life based on common ownership of property and goods, celibate purity, and confessions of sins.

During the early 1780's, New Hampshire was subject to the revivalist revolution that would sweep the Nation over the following decades, inspiring and invoking change in a number of American communities. Caught up in this religious whirlwind, Benjamin Whitcher, a Shaker convert himself, chose to donate the large tract of land upon which the Canterbury Shaker Village now stands.

Canterbury was formally called to order the summer of 1792 with the construction of the community's Meeting House by Moses Johnson. The Moses Johnson design was used for all subsequent buildings in the Shaker Village which is duplicate of the right side to the left side.

Notice this Meeting House has two doors, left for the brothers (males) and right for the sisters (females). Usually religious sessions were conducted where men and women would break out in dance. The floors were marked for males on one side and females on the other. Do you suppose their dancing is where their name, Shakers, comes from?

Dick our tour guide gave us a wonderful history on Ann Lee as the Mother of the Early Shakers where " a special manifestation of Divine light" in Manchester, England directed her to relocate to America as the leader of the Shakers.

The Canterbury Shaker Village prospered over the following century due to solid endeavors in the fields of farming, livestock breeding, water-powered mills, and the production of seeds and herbal medicines.

With their entrepreneur acumen, they were able to build a new building every year stopping at approximately 100.

Their dwelling house consisted of a large room for their social and religious functions, and contained their living quarters and dining room.

The Great Bell on the Dwelling House is rung to summon all to breakfast; at 8 am, Morning Prayers, which consist of the responsive reading of two Psalms, followed by Bible readings, prayer, silent prayer and the singing of a Shaker song, begins; at 8:30 am, work begins; at 11:30 am, Mid-day Prayers begin; at 12 pm, dinner, the main meal of the day, is served; at 1 pm, work begins again; and at 6 pm, supper is served.

During the height of their population in Canterbury of 300 or so, each person were issued 120 sets of garments to wear: as a result, the laundry room was rather busy. The Shakers were quite inventive; they invented a three bay wooden washing machine with a baffle system that swished the dirt out of the clothes. Back in the 1800's, it was one of the first washing machines capable of doing bulk washing, the machine was made and sold to outsiders such as schools, hospitals, and hotels.

The schoolhouse

The infirmary

The 10 buggy garage

Fast forward to the 21st century, their Shaker lunch and farmhouse

I noticed she spun wool for hours. I saw her during our tour, we had lunch, came back and she was still at it.

The broom shop

In 1810, the Shakers use the sorghum plant to make brooms. The plant became what was called "broom corn."

Shaker whisk brooms

Shaker long brooms

The Shaker prayer reflected in their work, perfection was the ultimate goal

Shaker ladder chair

Shaker quality of workmanship achieved renown -- as did the spirit that animated Shaker labor

Shaker round containers

Shaker music was received and copied by many composers in their own melodies

For those who lived at Canterbury throughout their lifetime lived in the beauty of the Benjamin Whitcher farm.

"Shakerism has message for this present age -- a message as valid today as when it was first expressed. It teaches above all else that God is Love and that our most solemn duty is to show forth that God, who is divine love in the World"