Everyone was disappointed and curious about the Shaker Village, so when we decided we would make the trip to Kentucky, I asked if we could spend a day at Shaker Village to see if it would have been a worthy trip. It is only an hour drive from Jim's house so off we went on Monday!
Now, I didn't know much of anything about the Shakers - I mean who can keep them all straight when you have Shakers, Quakers and Amish. Sounds more like an illness than a way of life. So, not only did we enjoy walking around the Village, but we learned a lot. Shakers were a group of people who got together and agreed that they all believed the same things religiously and they felt they could have a better life if they all pooled their resources and lived and worked together for the good of the community. So I guess you could say they were kind of Hippies of the 1800's.
The end result was is a beautiful area that has been preserved on lots of acres with lots of buildings. Walking through out the area we got a real feel for the simpler life, a time before technology and a place of community. So, here's a brief view of what we saw...
This is the building we purchased our tickets for the walking tour. It is also the gift shop that has a real country store feel to it. Wished I'd had more money to spend - so many wonderful handmade items to see.
The boys found a basket of hats and could not resist trying them on. I love this photo - they look like little Amish boys! :-)
Another favorite photo of mine from the day. This was a little window/display area in the shop. I caught the kitty napping and just loved the scene it created.
Shakers were known for their rock fences - wonder if they were Irish?!? These fences were really lovely and covered the whole area.
This is the building we spent the most time in. It was the Centre Family building and offered scenes of everyday life for a Shaker. The rooms recreated the places Shakers would spend their time.
A typical bedroom. Rooms were set up for women and men to be separate. Even married couples kind of gave up their own space to live more as a community.
Schooling was done by the Shakers themselves. This was a typical classroom.
In the basement we considered where to go next...
Their kitchen!
Grandma Palmer helps the boys try their hand at stitching.
Being a detail person, I loved these kinds of things I found all over the Village. Check out their nifty gadget to keep the windows open! There were lots of clever things like this to see.
The Infirmary
A group shot! Unfortunately Shelby had a dentist appointment that day and could not join us.
I loved their stairways! There were several buildings that had the most beautiful stairways that lended themselves to wonderful photos.
Not only did the Shakers make and do everything their community needed, but they also had a farm and animals to use for their food. This is still a working farm and provides the food served in the restaurants available in the Village.
Evan wanted to share his snack!
Some of the buildings offered demonstrations of daily events.
Not sure I'm ready to give up my modern life, but it sure was a beautiful place to visit!
No comments:
Post a Comment