When Quakers began to shake
Rosemary Emmett outlines the rise and fall in popularity of the Shaker movement
I had visited the Shaker Museum at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, several times before, when staying with my brother who lives nearby. On those occasions I had been a regular tourist, walking around the grounds and the twenty-seven buildings of the original 260 at Shakertown (as this particular community of more than 500 people was called), as well as viewing the replica of a nineteenth-century paddle wheel riverboat, which takes visitors along the Kentucky river.
I had admired the simple architecture, the plainness, the beauty and exquisite workmanship of buildings and furniture, and had been impressed by Shaker ingenuity when looking at their prototypes of modern agricultural and manufacturing equipment and kitchen gadgetry. Shakers believed in ‘hands to work, hearts to God’ and their many resourceful inventions included a washing machine, a flat-iron, wrinkle-proof textiles and sanitation equipment – not to mention the circular saw, invented by a woman member, Tabitha Babbit. It had also delighted me to attend performances by costumed music students of just a few of the 20,000 a cappella Shaker songs, through which shine the community’s convictions of humility, simplicity and reverence for God.
You need to login to read subscriber-only content and/or comment on articles.