Shirley Shaker Village is a historic former Shaker community in Lancaster and

Shirley, Massachusetts Shirley is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately thirty miles west-northwest of Boston. The population was 7,431 at the 2020 census. The town has a well-preserved historic New England town center. It is ho ...

. Defined as an

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...

, it includes about half of the original buildings and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The Shirley Shaker Village began in 1793. Hundreds of acres of land was donated by John Warren, Elijah and Ivory Wildes, and Nathan Willard near their properties. At its peak there were 26 buildings; Now there are 13. Within the community there were the North, South and Church families. By 1853 there were 150 believers, or members, and the community continued into the 20th century.''Shirley Shaker Village''
National Park Service. Retrieved March 24, 2014. File:Shirley, MA Shaker Village.jpg,

William Dean Howells William Dean Howells (; March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of ''The Atlantic Monthly'', ...

, ''Shirley Shaker Village,'' an illustration from ''Three Villages'', 1884. File:Ministry Shop, Shirley Shaker Village MA.jpg, Ministry Shop, Shirley Shaker Village File:Cemetery, Shirley Shaker Village MA.jpg, Cemetery, Shirley Shaker Village The buildings were first made of clapboard and painted yellow and white. After the 1840s and the founding of a brick factory nearby, new buildings were constructed of brick. The brick administration building was styled similarly to one at the

Canterbury Shaker Village Canterbury Shaker Village is a historic site and museum in Canterbury, New Hampshire, United States. It was one of a number of Shaker communities founded in the 19th century. It is one of the most intact and authentic surviving Shaker communi ...

in New Hampshire. The interiors of the buildings were described by

in 1875 as

"the unpapered walls, the scrubbed floors hidden only by rugs and strips of carpeting, and the plain flat finish of the wood-work. Each chamber accommodates two brothers or sisters, and is appointed with two beds, two rocking chairs, two wash stands, and a wood stove with abundance of rugs. There were few tokens of personal taste in the arrangements of the rooms."

The Shakers earned income by producing and selling jellies, applesauce, herbs, mops and brooms. When the community dwindled and they were no longer able to be self-supporting, in 1908 "believers" moved to the

Hancock Shaker Village Hancock Shaker Village is a former Shaker commune in Hancock and Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It emerged in the towns of Hancock, Pittsfield, and Richmond in the 1780s, organized in 1790, and was active until 1960. It was the third of nineteen maj ...

. The state purchased the property in 1909 and adapted it for use as an "

industrial school Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

" for troubled and delinquent boys. Extensive changes were made to the property, resulting in the movement, alteration, and demolition of buildings. In 1971 the school was closed. New construction was done on site and the total facility was converted into the Massachusetts Correctional Institution complex. A

, encompassing the Shaker-related resources on more than of land in Shirley and Lancaster, was defined and listed on the

in 1976. The Shirley Historical Society arranges periodic tours of the former Shirley Shaker Village. Several other Shaker village sites operate today as museums. A similar community was founded in nearby

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. The meetinghouse of Shirley Shaker Village was moved in 1962 to

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield ...

to replace an identical one which burned and then was razed in 1938. Today, only one "society" remains in the control of the last Shakers, located at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in

New Gloucester, Maine New Gloucester is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, in the United States. It is home to the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, the last active Shaker village in the U.S. The town's population was 5,676 at the 2020 census. New Gloucester is part ...

.The last of the Shakers
Busted Halo, April 13, 2010

References

External links

Shirley Historical Society Shaker information
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Populated places established in 1793 Historic districts in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Historic districts in Worcester County, Massachusetts Shaker communities or museums Christian communities National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Worcester County, Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts

See also

References

External links