Canterbury Shaker Village
Meetinghouses, dwellings, workshops, gardens, furniture, music, and water-powered systems reveal a community designed around order and shared labor.
Artwork inspired by Edward Hill
A complete Shaker village makes belief visible in buildings and work. Meetinghouses, dwellings, workshops, gardens, furniture, music, and water-powered systems reveal a community designed around order and shared labor. Together, Dwelling House, Meeting House, and laundry machinery turn that broad subject into a sequence of specific things a visitor can actually examine.
Take the guided route first, then revisit a workshop to study how theology shaped tools and space. The large rural campus is seasonal and historic stairs, gravel, and weather change the accessible route. Leave enough attention for laundry machinery; it often supplies the context that makes Dwelling House more than an isolated highlight.
- Founded
- 1792
- Buildings
- 25 restored
- Campus
- Nearly 700 acres
Quick guide
- Start with
- Take the guided route first, then revisit a workshop to study how theology shaped tools and space.
- Look closely at
- Use Meeting House as evidence, then test that first impression against laundry machinery.
Know before you go
- Start with
- Take the guided route first, then revisit a workshop to study how theology shaped tools and space.
- Look closely at
- Use Meeting House as evidence, then test that first impression against laundry machinery.
- Connect the story
- Follow water-powered machinery into dwellings and worship spaces to connect efficient design with the community’s spiritual and social order.
- Plan around
- Review hours, admission, parking, and access together before planning Canterbury Shaker Village; each addresses a different practical constraint.
Good to know
The large rural campus is seasonal and historic stairs, gravel, and weather change the accessible route.
Notice these
- Dwelling House
- Meeting House
- laundry machinery