PLEASANT HILL, Ky. – “I work at ‘heaven on earth,’” jokes tour guide Sarah Porter as she leads visitors down an old gravel turnpike through Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Ky., about 25 miles southwest of Lexington.
On a crisp morning as a playful breeze ruffles the glowing gold and orange leaves of the sycamore trees on a stroll through the village, her appraisal is hard to dispute.
At its height in the 1820s, the village was home to around 500 Shaker faithful, making it among the largest of what were once 21 Shaker communities in the United States.
Thirty-four structures remain in the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, which was reopened as a visitor destination in 1968. People can tour most of the buildings, constructed from 1809 to 1875, and learn about the Shaker heritage from artifacts and displays, complemented with music programs and farm activities.
While its historic legacy might be a primary draw, many visitors come simply to experience a peaceful getaway in the Kentucky Bluegrass region. Rolling hills dotted with horses form a tranquil setting for a restful stay with comfortable lodging and fine dining.
‘Heaven on earth’
Members of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, the Shaker religion’s proper name, dedicated themselves to creating “heaven on earth” and to living in union with one another. The Shakers were America’s largest communal society in the 19th century. The religious sect lived in New York and New England, and then a small number came to central Kentucky in 1805.
Primarily farmers and artisans, the Shakers selected the site for its fertile land and abundant water resources. Within a generation, they possessed more than 4,000 acres used for crops, livestock and fruit orchards.
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The Believers sold fresh produce, seed packets and fruit preserves. They made finely handcrafted wares, notably broom-corn brooms. By the 1850s, they produced more than 20,000 brooms each year. They sold these and other products on trade routes throughout the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys. One of the most iconic Shaker products was an oval wooden box with delicate swallowtail fingers. The goods provided a steady income for many decades.
Every pursuit, whether weaving textiles or constructing barns, reflected strength, beauty and perfection. The village, saved in 1961 from the ravages of neglect, operates as a living history enterprise under the direction of a nonprofit, educational corporation.
A walk through the village showcases the Shakers’ expert architecture and craftsmanship.
Their dedication to this ideal is evident in the precise stone work of the massive Centre Family Dwelling. Limestone quarried from the cliffs along the nearby Kentucky River was used to construct the nearly 25,000-square-foot structure. The architectural marvel holds re-created living spaces to illustrate the day-to-day life of the Believers. Men and women, who lived in celibacy, were kept separate to the extent that buildings have two entrances, one for men and one for women.
The Meeting House was built in 1820 for religious services and social activities. It is a testament to their building skills because its truss roof allowed the 60-by-44-foot gathering room to be unobstructed by support beams. Believers gathered regularly to dance, sing and express their faith through powerful worship services. The term Shaker came about because services often featured frenetic dancing.
The Water House contains a 19,000-gallon wooden tank on its second floor. A horse-powered pump pulled water from a spring to the tank, which delivered fresh water throughout the village as early as 1833, well before running water was common in households elsewhere.
In the 1830s, Shaker Micajah Burnett constructed the redbrick Trustees’ Office with a twin set of spiraling staircases. Gracefully, they rise three stories and curve like stairways to heaven. Today, the Trustees’ Office is a guest house and the setting for splendid meals. The Trustees’ Table restaurant serves “seed-to-table” dining featuring vegetables grown in the garden just beyond the side door.
The restaurant is open for three hearty meals daily. A guest can enjoy, for example, a Shaker breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, skillet potatoes and buttermilk biscuits; a lunch of cornmeal-dredged catfish and southern fried okra; and a honey-infused Shaker fried chicken dinner with sauteed garden green beans. For dessert, a slice of very fine Shaker lemon pie makes “heaven on earth” seem a reality.
A legacy of warm hospitality
The Shakers’ reputation for hospitality continues with visitor accommodations in the village. Seventy-two guest rooms and suites spread across 13 of the restored buildings. Shaker-style furniture adorns each room. Ladder-back rockers and small round tables rest on woven rag rugs. Electrified candles shed light on cotton coverlets and polished floors. Guests gaze through the windows to see sheep grazing in meadows and farm workers harvesting vegetables, just as did the Shakers who occupied the rooms 150 years ago.
In the village, visitors enjoy guided and self-guided history tours, food tastings, farming activities and musical programs, including an introduction to Shaker hymns. Three shops sell handicrafts, such as authentically produced Shaker linens, candles, oval boxes and brooms.
Riders in horse-drawn wagons pass through the village and beyond. Pastures, orchards, wildflower fields and expansive gardens skirt the cluster of clapboard houses and limestone and brick buildings. Visitors immerse in a rural lifestyle as they observe goats, sheep and pigs ambling behind dry-stack rock walls.
In the evening, the village transforms into a magical place with the golden glow of copper lanterns and the chirp of crickets ushering in the night. A small flock of guinea hens scuttle into tall grasses, and a pair of musicians sing and strum guitars outside the restaurant.
Beyond the Shaker Village
This bucolic destination offers many opportunities for hikers, equestrians, mountain bikers, birdwatchers, wildflower enthusiasts and paddlers. They have easy access to 3,000 acres of original Shaker countryside. The Preserve at Shaker Village boasts more than 500 plant species and 150 species of local and migrating birds. Wildflowers cling to limestone cliffs and brambles shelter young deer.
Thirty-six miles of pathways lead through native prairies, canebrakes and woodlands just outside the village center, ranging from the strenuous, six-mile Shawnee Run Trail to the easy, three-quarter-mile Palisades Trail with its views of the High Bridge over the Kentucky River.
Equestrians board their horses at a stable with 20 stalls in a secluded tract on the Preserve. They can select routes from many miles of trails maintained for horseback riding and horse-drawn carriage riding.
People paddle the Kentucky River Palisades at Shaker Landing. In the mid-1800s, this was a busy port and ferry crossing operated by the Shakers to move their farm goods and products to markets as far away as Louisville, Cincinnati and New Orleans. Now, the riverfront is quiet, except for the commotion of kayakers launching into the river for an adventure to view steep gorges, waterfalls and cliffs.
Linda Lange and Steve Ahillen are travel writers living in Knoxville, Tenn.
