Canterbury Shaker Village

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Canterbury Shaker Village

| nrhp_type = nhld

| nocat = yes

| image = General View of Canterbury Shaker Village.jpg

| caption = Shaker Village c. 1920

| nearest_city = 288 Shaker Road, Canterbury, New Hampshire

| locmapin = New Hampshire

| area =

| built = 1792

| architect =

| architecture =

| designated_nrhp_type = April 19, 1993{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1526&ResourceType=District |title=Canterbury Shaker Village |access-date=2007-10-03 |work=National Historic Landmark summary listing |publisher=National Park Service |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009093438/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1526&ResourceType=District |archive-date=2012-10-09 }}

| added = June 17, 1975{{NRISref|2007a}}

| refnum = 75000129

}}

{{Infobox settlement

| name = Canterbury Shaker Village

| type = Shaker community{{cite book|author=Stephen J. Paterwic|title=The A to Z of the Shakers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QXe8E2tR3UC&pg=PA29|date=28 September 2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7056-7|pages=29–30}}

| established_title = Established

| established_date = 1792

| extinct_title = Declared a National Historic Landmark

| extinct_date = 1993

| subdivision_type = Bishopric

| subdivision_name = Canterbury

| other_name = Spiritual name: Holy Ground

| blank_name_sec1 = Families

| blank_info_sec1 = Church, Second, North, West

| population_total = 260

| total_type = Maximum

| population_as_of = 1840

}}

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 community sites, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993.{{Cite journal| title=National Historic Landmark Nomination: Canterbury Shaker Village| url={{NHLS url|id=75000129}} |format=pdf| date=August 1992 |author=Lisa Mausolf |publisher=National Park Service}}{{NHLS url|id=75000129|title=Accompanying 20 photos, exterior and interiors, from 1992 and undated.|photos=y}} {{small|(4.68 MB)}}

The site is operated by a non-profit organization established in 1969 to preserve the heritage of the Canterbury Shakers. Canterbury Shaker Village is an internationally known, non-profit museum and historic site with 27 original Shaker buildings, four reconstructed Shaker buildings and {{convert|694|acre|km2}} of forests, fields, gardens and mill ponds under permanent conservation easement. Canterbury Shaker Village "is dedicated to preserving the 200-year legacy of the Canterbury Shakers and to providing a place for learning, reflection and renewal of the human spirit."{{cite web| url=http://www.shakers.org/about-us/our-mission/| title = Our Mission |access-date=2007-10-22| publisher=Canterbury Shaker Village}}

History

= Origins and growth =

The Canterbury site was one of two communities existing in what was known as the New Hampshire Bishopric, which contained Canterbury village and the Shaker Village of Enfield.Rieman, Timothy D., and Jean M. Burks. The Complete Book of Shaker Furniture. 1st ed. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 1993. A bishopric was composed of two or more communities in the same area or geographical location. They were designed as a way to organize communications and events amongst villages and acted as an administrative unit, which represented the governing body of the United Society of Believers.Stein, Stephen J. The Shaker Experience in America: A History of the United Society of Believers. 1st ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992.

In 1782 Israel Chauncey and Ebeneezer Cooley from the Mount Lebanon village of Shakers traveled to Canterbury and converted several prominent figures of the community. These figures included Benjamin and Mary Whitcher and the Wiggin and Sanborn families, who later donated land to house the Canterbury Village community of Shakers. Through a donation of land from local community members, the Canterbury Village was founded in 1792, led by Father Job Bishop.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistory00robi|title=A Concise History of the United Society of Believers Called Shakers|last=Robinson|first=Charles Edson|date=1893-01-01|publisher=Robinson|language=en}} The village expanded over time, and in 1803 there were 159 members in three families.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QXe8E2tR3UC|title=The A to Z of the Shakers|last=Paterwic|first=Stephen J.|date=2009-09-28|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810870567|page=30|language=en|quote="...and by 1803 there were 159 believers in three families."}} Nearly fifty years later in 1850, the site contained {{convert|3000|acre|km2}} with a community of 300 housed in 100 buildings.

=Modernization=

{{Shakers sidebar}}Over the period in which the Canterbury Village existed as a working Shaker community, various inventions from mainstream society were adopted by its members. As Stephen Stein highlights in his definitive guide to the Shaker society, The Shaker Experience, "New means of transportation, sources of power, complex machinery, and communication devices transformed community life and came to symbolize the views of modern Believers."

In 1901 the New England Telephone Company installed telephones at the Canterbury Village site. As Stein outlined, this would have changed community life in the sense that the installation of the telephone eradicated the need for long distance travel between Shaker communities.

The Canterbury Village had its own powerhouse constructed in 1910. The cost of the powerhouse was $8,000, and at first the generator powered the electric lights in sixteen community buildings. The Canterbury members were also given a television set after its invention in the 1950s by friends of the community.Starbuck, David R. Neither Plain nor Simple: New Perspective on the Canterbury Shakers. 1st ed. New Haven, CT: University Press of New England, 2004.

The Shakers of Canterbury also had laborsaving inventions of their own, which contributed greatly to their economy. The Canterbury Shakers patented a washing machine, an accomplishment that was recognized by mainstream society in the form of a gold medal at the Centennial Exposition in 1876.

Music was an important part of Shaker life at Canterbury. Among the many Canterbury Shaker spirituals are the hymn "Celestial Praises" from 1841, and the song "We Will All Go Home with You" from 1862. Between 1842 and 1908 there were eleven different Shaker hymnals published by the Shakers at Canterbury.Hall, Roger L. A Guide to Shaker Music - With Music Supplement. Stoughton, MA: 6th ed. PineTree Press, 2006.[http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/shakerbooks.htm]

= Decline =

{{Historical populations|9=1840|10=260|11=1850|12=300|align=left|3=1803|4=159|13=1860|14=240|15=1870|16=177|17=|18=|19=|20=|21=1905|22=100|23=1916|24=49|25=|26=|27=|28=|29=|30=|31=1950|32=16|33=|34=|35=|36=|37=|38=|39=1990|40=2|41=1992|42=1}}In 1905, there were 100 members,{{Cite news| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19881217&id=JnghAAAAIBAJ&pg=877,4794790&hl=en| title = Vanishing Shakers leave lasting legacy| last = Hillinger| first = Charles| date = 17 December 1988| work = Schenectady Gazette |access-date = 22 February 2016| via = Google Newspapers}} and by 1916, the Shakers in Canterbury had dwindled to just 49, 47 women and two men.{{Cite news| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1957&dat=19930502&id=UpYxAAAAIBAJ&pg=2312,893275&hl=en| title = Canterbury Village preserves Shaker life| last = Shufelt| first = Gail| date = 2 May 1993| work = The Daily Gazette |access-date = 22 February 2016| via = Google Newspapers}} In addition, there were 12 females under the age of 21 as well as one non-Shaker who had been living in the village for seven years.

The last male member of the Canterbury Village, Brother Irving Greenwood, died in 1939.

In 1947, when LIFE reporter Nina Leen visited the village, there were 16 sisters remaining,{{Cite news| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19920510&id=R2dKAAAAIBAJ&pg=2086,2425457&hl=en| title = New Hampshire's Shaker heritage| last = Milbouer| first = Staci| date = 10 May 1992| work = The Telegraph |access-date = 22 February 2016| via = Google Newspapers}} ranging in age from 43 to 80.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QXe8E2tR3UC|title=The A to Z of the Shakers|last=Paterwic|first=Stephen J.|date=2009-09-28|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810870567|page=32|language=en}}

In 1957, after "months of prayer", Eldresses Gertrude, Emma, and Ida, the leaders of the United Society of Believers and who were based out of Canterbury, voted to close the Shaker Covenant, the document which all new members need to sign to become members of the Shakers. In 1988, speaking about the three men and women in their 20s and 30s who had joined the Shakers and were living in the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, Eldress Bertha Lindsay stated, "To become a Shaker you have to sign a legal document taking the necessary vows and that document, the official covenant, is locked up in our safe. Membership is closed forever."

By as early as 1980, Canterbury Shaker Village had opened to visitors as a historic site, with tours, greetings by some of the few remaining Shakers, and a gift shop, called "Simple Gifts".{{Cite news| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19800529&id=Qp8rAAAAIBAJ&pg=4601,5574438&hl=en|title = Shaker Village opens|date = 29 May 1980| work = The Telegraph| access-date = 22 February 2016| via = Google Newspapers}}{{Cite news| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19840524&id=6psrAAAAIBAJ&pg=4579,5117321&hl=en| title = Shaker Village comes alive in May|date = 24 May 1984| work = The Telegraph| access-date = 22 February 2016| via = Google Newspapers}} In 1992, it received 60,000 visitors from all 50 US states and 45 countries.{{Cite news| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1914&dat=19921222&id=pwggAAAAIBAJ&pg=3006,5342907&hl=en| title = Shaker Village to get state protection|date = 22 December 1992| work = Sun Journal |access-date = 22 February 2016| via = Google Newspapers}}

In 1988, Eldress Gertrude Soule died,{{Cite news| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19880615&id=iwcgAAAAIBAJ&pg=1970,2811412&hl=en| title = Canterbury Shaker remembered| last = Mitman| first = Wendy| date = 15 June 1988| work = The Lewiston Daily Sun| access-date = 22 February 2016| via = Google Newspapers}} leaving only two Shakers left at Canterbury Village, Eldress Bertha Lindsay and Sister Ethel Hudson, aged 93 and 96, respectively.{{Cite news| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19901003&id=pYVKAAAAIBAJ&pg=7011,623072&hl=en| title = Last Shaker eldress died| last = Associated Press|date = 3 October 1990| work = The Telegraph| access-date = 22 February 2016| via = Google Newspapers}} Bertha Lindsay, the last Shaker eldress, died on 3 October 1990, leaving only one Shaker at Canterbury, Sister Ethel Hudson. By September 1992, she had died at the age of 96.

Governance

The Shakers were organized in a hierarchical system of four levels. The first level to which every member of the community was involved was the family. Above the family were members known as elders and eldresses, deacons and deaconesses. The third level usually consisted of two men and two women who formed a ministry, which governed over the individual communities. Finally, the fourth level was the bishopric, which governed the local communities.

Buildings

File:Canterbury Shaker Village Trustees Office.jpg|Trustees office

File:Canterbury Shaker Village Horse Barn.jpg|Horse barn

File:Canterbury Shaker Village Infirmary.jpg|Infirmary

File:Canterbury Shaker Village Meetinghouse.jpg|Meetinghouse

File:Canterbury Shaker Village School House.jpg|Schoolhouse

Notable residents

Henry Clay Blinn, Elder, artist, and writer{{cite book|author=Stephen J. Paterwic|title=Historical Dictionary of the Shakers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UwglDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA45|date=15 June 2017|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-5381-0231-2|pages=45–}}
Thomas Corbett, physician
Cora Helena Sarle, watercolor artist{{cite book|author=Gerard C. Wertkin|title=Encyclopedia of American Folk Art|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780415929868|url-access=registration|date=2 August 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-95614-1}}
Mary Whitcher, the "Shaker poetess"

References

External links

{{Official website|1=http://www.shakers.org/}}
[http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/shakermusicinourtime.htm Shaker Music at American Music Preservation.com]
[http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/shaker/ Shaker Historic Trail: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary]

{{hidden begin|toggle=left|title=Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documentation}}

All of the following are filed under Shaker Village Road, Canterbury, Merrimack County, NH:

{{HABS |survey=NH-177 |id=nh0054 |title=Shaker Church Family Barn & Granary |photos=3 |link=no}}
{{HABS |survey=NH-178 |id=nh0055 |title=Shaker Church Family Creamery |photos=1 |link=no}}
{{HABS |survey=NH-179 |id=nh0056 |title=Shaker Church Family Brethen's Shop |photos=1 |link=no}}
{{HABS |survey=NH-180 |id=nh0060 |title=Shaker Church Family Dwelling House |photos=12 |link=no}}
{{HABS |survey=NH-181 |id=nh0062 |title=Shaker Church Family Trustees' Office |photos=4 |link=no}}
{{HABS |survey=NH-182 |id=nh0063 |title=Shaker Church Family Firehouse & Powerhouse |photos=1 |link=no}}
{{HABS |survey=NH-183 |id=nh0064 |title=Shaker Church Family General View |photos=3 |link=no}}
{{HABS |survey=NH-184 |id=nh0061 |title=Shaker Church Family Children's House |photos=2 |link=no}}
{{HABS |survey=NH-185 |id=nh0069 |title=Shaker Church Family Washhouse |photos=2 |link=no}}
{{HABS |survey=NH-186 |id=nh0070 |title=Shaker Meetinghouse |photos=2 |link=no}}
{{HABS |survey=NH-187 |id=nh0071 |title=Shaker Ministry's Shop |photos=1 |link=no}}
{{HABS |survey=NH-188 |id=nh0066 |title=Shaker Church Family Schoolhouse |photos=4 |link=no}}
{{HABS |survey=NH-189 |id=nh0067 |title=Shaker Church Family Syrup Shop |photos=2 |link=no}}
{{HABS |survey=NH-191 |id=nh0057 |title=Shaker Church Family Broom & Carpenters' Shop |photos=1 |link=no}}