Hancock Shaker Village - History

History

The Shaker religion began in Manchester, England in 1747 and found its leader in a charismatic young woman named Ann Lee. In 1770, she had visions and revelations which taught her that only by renouncing carnal knowledge could humankind ever achieve entrance into heaven. After enduring persecution in England, a small group of Shakers set sail for America in 1774. They came to settle in the Albany area, and from there expanded through missionary trips in the Northeast. Although Mother Ann passed away in 1784, her time in the New World was fruitful and what started as a small following eventually expanded to a religion that, at its height in the mid-nineteenth century, claimed over 5,000 believers. The Shakers are a religious order who believe in pacifism, celibacy, communal living, and gender equality. In the nineteenth century, Shaker worship included singing, shaking, and ecstatic dance, which is why they were called the "Shaking Quakers," or "Shakers." The utopian sect is renowned today for its plain architecture and furniture. A handful of Shakers still practice their faith today in a Shaker settlement in Sabbathday Lake, Maine.

The Hancock community was started in 1783 with the consolidation of land donated by converted farmers, many of them members of the Goodrich family, who were New Light Baptists in the congregation of Valentine Rathbun. Elder Calvin Harlow and Eldress Sarah Harrison were the first leaders of the Hancock Shakers. The group was poor at first, but with good leadership, hard work, and thrift, they attracted more members and built a thriving community of several communal families.

All supported themselves by the proceeds of their farmland. The Hancock Shakers were primarily dairy farmers. The raising and sale of garden seeds was perhaps the most lucrative of their early businesses. Land acquisition and conversion continued for decades, with the area peaking at 3,000 acres (12 km2) and the population rising to over 300. After reaching peak membership in the 1840s, the Shaker movement gradually dwindled, partially due to the urban migration that accompanied the Industrial Revolution, and by the westward migration of New England's youth. By the early twentieth century, the population of the village had fallen to around 50, most of whom were children. The remaining Shakers sold off their excess land, and many buildings were destroyed. The decision was eventually made in 1960 to close the village and sell the property and buildings.

Non-Shakers were impressed by the Hancock Shaker property - scrupulously clean, neat, and well-tended - as well as their innovations in farming, such as the round barn that attracted so much attention (see description below). Visitors also praised Hancock Shakers' products, including boxes "of beautiful workmanship" and garden seeds. Before 1820, the village was prosperous and the Shakers were respected as good neighbors.