Once Thriving Religious Sect Leaves Its Mark
October 19, 2012
The plain and immaculately clean surroundings of what was once a thriving Shaker community in Maine exemplifies the Shakers’ vow of hard work and simplicity. (Carol M. Highsmith)
One of the swankiest suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, is Shaker Heights, and it’s not named for any kind of food shaker or for a Mister Shaker.
Nor are Shakertown, Kentucky; Hancock Shaker Village in Massachusetts; or Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in Maine.
They were all once communal settlements of an ultra-strict religious sect that got its name from its followers’ exuberant dancing.
There are only two, possibly three, members of the Shaker religious band still alive. Nobody outside the private community where the women are cared for in Maine knows the number for sure.
Two hundred-thirty-eight years ago, Ann Lee - the charismatic British founder of the sect - formally called the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing - moved, along with eight of her followers, to the United States.
A simple, but elegant, kitchen at the Hancock Shaker Village near Pittsfield, Massachusetts. (Carol M. Highsmith)
Together, they began founding communal settlements from Maine in the Northeast to Kentucky in the mid-South.
Onlookers called them “Shakers” as they watched these true believers twitch and clap loudly - shaking off the sins of the world as they sang and danced.
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