Mar 31, 2008

Shaker Town

Sorry, was MIA yesterday. Got a bug of some sort and spent the day sleeping. I am up and better today. The sun is shining and all is well.

My most favorite part of the trip was our trip to Shakertown. ABSOLUTELY fascinating! Which of course has spurred my interest in many of these village like religions. FASCINATING!




At Shakertown they believed in absolute celibacy. Men and women were to reside together as brothers and sisters. But in order to submit to the Lord, they must not give in to flesh desires--that such of a relationship between a man and a woman. Each of the homes had 2 doors and 2 sets of staircases. The men on the left and women on the right.









The believed in simplicity. Only the mere necessities.












They did have childrens quarters as often when married couples joined the church they brought a family. They also took in orphans. Those not left on the doorstep, but those actually adopted legally. Orderlies would then raise the children. Because when you joined you gave up your parental obligations.









Shakers were the first to sell packaged seeds in markets. This is part of their filing system for the packages.




Notice how EMPTY the home seems. I dont know if this is because they dont have enough artifacts to FILL the entire village or if this is truly how they lived. SIMPLE.


I absolutely LOOOOVED this! I have seen the irons many times when we have gone out junking and I even remember one in my grandmother's house. But never had I seen a whole bushel of them!


Another photo that I didnt get (thought I had) was of the washing machine. Yes, it was a MACHINE! It was agitated with a poley and little wheel that was powered by a horse that was outside.


They made all of their clothing. It was fun to see the woman actually making the thread and showed us all of the wheels and props they used to count yardages and so much more.




This is a handcrafted staircase that is 3 stories high over in the Inn. Its absolutely gorgeous. And whats more fascinating about it...is that over across the way there is another exactly like it. For the men and women of course.


25 miles of this rock fence surround the property.
Of course... horses were there.


This picture is on the second floor of one of the homes. You can see the dual stair cases going up and and down on either side.












The dining hall also had a mens and ladies side.



One thing that I noticed was that throughout the ENTIRE house there was a peg board about 5-6 feet off the floor on nearly every wall. This was because they didnt believe in laying things down. If something was not in use it needed to be hung up. No pictures or decoration per say was hung with NAILS either. These little mantel shelves held the lighting throughout...and they were made with holes in the handles to hang on the boards.


Though men and women resided together the Ministry did not. They ate alone and the slept in another building.
I am hoping to get some ink to paper today! I have missed playing!
Have a blessed day!-Becky

5 comments:

nancy said...

Becky, I really enjoyed this. And yes, they did live simply. It's why all the Shaker artifacts you find had a functional purpose. No frills. But these artifacts were beautiful because of the craftsmanship and design, weren't they? The staircase! Oh, My!
Nancy

Moose Ridge said...

think how much room we would have in our studios if we hung up every tool every time we finished with it instead of piling them all on top of each other on the tables... sigh...

Allison

Debbie said...

Thanks for sharing this, Becky. I found this fascinating, especially the stove with the irons! How cool, and simple. I can only imagine what the washing machine looked like. That was great, now go get inky!

Anonymous said...

Hi, I stop by from time to time, and I found this post so Interesting, and Very Educational!
Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hope you're feeling better Becky!

Thanks for sharing all the great photo's...looks like a good time was had by all.