Micajah Burnett (13 May 1791 – 10 January 1879) was an American
Shaker
Shaker or Shakers may refer to:
Religious groups
* Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect
* Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination
Objects and instruments
* Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone
* Cock ...
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
,
builder
Builder may refer to:
Construction
* Construction worker, who specializes in building work
* Carpenter, a skilled craftsman who works with wood
* General contractor, that specializes in building work
** Subcontractor
* Real estate developer, who ...
,
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
,
surveyor
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...
,
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
, and
town planner
An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning.
An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, tow ...
.
Early life
Burnett was born on 13 May 1791 in
Patrick County,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
He was the oldest of four children, the others being Charity, Andrew, and Zachiah.
By the mid-1790s, his family had settled in
Wayne County,
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
.
In 1808, his parents converted to
Shakerism
The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...
and joined the
Pleasant Hill Shaker Society with their four children.
Burnett was 17 at the time.
Adulthood and architecture

At the age of 22, Burnett changed the original layout of Pleasant Hill, much of which was on a north–south axis.
He reoriented the main road to run east–west, and designed and oversaw the construction of three new dwelling houses along it. The first two were brick structures home to the East and West Families, built in 1817 and 1821, respectively.
The third, construction of which began in 1824 and ended ten years later, was the dwelling of the Center Family.
Built of white limestone, the building is 55 by 60 feet with an ell of 34 by 85 feet.
Besides the three dwellings, Burnett designed the Pleasant Hill Shakers' Meeting House in 1820. A white
clapboard
Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of those terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping.
''Clapboard'', in modern Am ...
structure, it is 60 by 44 feet.

During the early 1830s, Burnett directed the construction of the first public waterworks west of the
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...
.
Part of the project included the erection of Pleasant Hill's water tower, which Burnett designed. Completed in 1831, the tower holds a
cypress
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America.
The word ''cypress'' ...
tank with a capacity of 4,400 gallons of water.
The tower allowed every dwelling, shop, and barn in the Shaker village to have access to
running water.
Burnett's expertise in engineering and designing waterworks was such that he was consulted by Shakers at the
South Union Shaker Society when they were designing their own waterworks.
While Burnett's many designs and completed buildings awarded him renown both among Shakers and outside groups, his most famous project was that of the Pleasant Hill Trustees' House.
A large brick building, it was built from 1839–1840 and is best known for its twin
spiral staircase
Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical direction, vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps wh ...
s, which have the appearance of standing unsupported.
In addition to his design and construction work, Burnett also had the important job of trustee, which took him to markets across the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
area selling Shaker good including
seeds
In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the ...
,
brooms
A broom (also known as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a v ...
,
medicinal herbs
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection ...
,
raw silk
Raw Silk was an American dance music, dance band which originated in New York City, New York.
History
Raw Silk first signed to West End Records, a popular Paradise Garage, garage label for which they recorded songs that became moderate hits. T ...
, and
fruit preserves
Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread.
There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...
.
To provide better access to the
Kentucky River
The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River in Kentucky, United States. The river and its tributaries drain much of eastern and central Kentucky, passing through the Eastern Coalfield, the Cumberland Mountains, and the Bluegrass re ...
from Pleasant Hill, he designed and oversaw the construction of a new road.
In his later years, he also designed and oversaw the construction of the Pleasant Hill West Family's wash house, the West Family Sisters' Shop, the East Family Brethren's Shop, and the Pleasant Hill
U.S. Post Office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...
.
In 1872, because of his old age, Burnett was released from his trustee duties.
He died on 10 January 1879 at the age of 87.
Gallery
File:Historic American Buildings Survey Lester Jones, Photographer August 24, 1940 VIEW FROM NORTHEAST - Shaker West Family Dwelling House (Second), North side of Village Road, North HABS KY,84-SHAKT,17-2.tif
File:Shakertown Water Tower 2005-05-27.jpeg
File:Center Family Meeting Room Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky.JPG
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnett, Micajah
1791 births
1879 deaths
Architects from Kentucky
19th-century American engineers
American surveyors
19th-century American mathematicians
Amateur mathematicians
American urban planners
Shaker members
People from Patrick County, Virginia
People from Wayne County, Kentucky
People from Mercer County, Kentucky
19th-century American businesspeople