Canterbury Shaker Village, What a Lovely Place to Live

The Canterbury Shaker Village was the former home to Shakers for several hundred years. It is now an outdoor museum, with various buildings open on certain days and times. We went on a Sunday, and it was quiet, but I imagine many tourists visit as well as bus loads of students. What a peaceful place to walk around and peek into the houses to see where the Shakers lived, worshiped and worked. There is a map at the end of this post, and the active link will pull up the map which will allow you to click on all the buildings and read about them.

It's been about 15 years since I last visited. The first time, there were children running all over the place. The next time, we went at night for a elegant home cooked dinner, reservations only for this special event. Being a fussy eater, I still remember eating my first broccoli and cheese soup and a pork dish, everything made with items from the garden and their raised pigs. Unfortunately, they no longer do this.

Earlier today, I posted The Shakers of Canterbury, NH, In Sickness and in Death, there is more information and photos at that site.

I'm sharing some pictures of Sunday's wonderful quiet day.

The Meeting House, a place of worship. 

 

Meeting House, side view and the interior.

 

Dwelling House.

The Shakers are well-known for building storage units, such as cabinets and drawers into the walls.

They made their own clothes, see the sewing machine?

Syrup Shop, (above and below)

They made syrup, did canning and packed seeds to sell.

Brooms were made here, and the printing press was in this room.

To activate this map, click on the below link.
http://www.shakers.org/visit/villagemap/

The Shakers of Canterbury, NH, In Sickness and in Death

The Canterbury Shaker Village is located in Canterbury, New Hampshire. I thought this post might be of interest to those who have Shaker ancestors in their tree. Unfortunately, I don't, but I still found it interesting in the way they kept death records, reordered where the dead were buried, and what the women wore when they were buried. This post is about sickness and death. We didn't get a tour on the Sunday we went, so the post is basically photos of what is inside the Infirmary (shown below). The next post is "What a Lovely Place to Live," seen HERE. Many photos of their houses, work sites and land they lived on.

Infirmary, originally built in 1811.

"Canterbury Shaker Village was established in 1792 when followers of founder Mother Ann Lee formed their seventh community in Canterbury, NH, which remained prominent for 200 years. The Village has operated exclusively as a museum since 1992 when the last Shaker sister in residence, Ethel Hudson, died. The few remaining Shakers live at the Shaker Village in Sabbathday Lake, Maine. At its height in the 1850s, 300 people lived and worked in over 100 buildings on 3,000 acres at Canterbury Shaker Village. "From: http://www.shakers.org/education/the-shakers/

First room we saw was the doctor's office. Doctors from the town would come to this house and see patients.

 
  

Sitting or waiting area.

Sick room, above, the following might be for recovery or night nurses.

Kitchen used  for the patients and staff, like the doctors and nurses.

A bonnet (with initials of the deceased) and  stockings were put on person before they were buried.

Wooden Casket

Record book of the deaths (enlarged page below).

  As stated, this is the Cemetery Chart for 1794-1971

Actual tombstones.

“In 1903, the Canterbury Shaker Ministry decided to follow that recommendation and removed the gravestones. A year later, they received the gift of a single granite stone from friends of the community. It was simply inscribed “Shakers.” This monument was placed in the middle of the burial site where it remains today.” (See last photo for this statement.)