Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village
Historic buildings, herb culture, craft, music, archives, and the lives of today’s residents complicate the idea of a vanished communal movement.
Artwork inspired by William Zorach
The world’s last active Shaker community joins worship, work, and preservation. Historic buildings, herb culture, craft, music, archives, and the lives of today’s residents complicate the idea of a vanished communal movement. This is both museum and home.
Take a guided tour, then examine how practical design expresses values of order, equality, and shared labor. Respect residential boundaries and worship life; museum tours and shops operate seasonally even though the community continues year-round. At Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, the most rewarding visit connects objects, spaces, and interpretation instead of treating the institution as a checklist.
- Founded
- 1783
- Status
- Active community
- Buildings
- Historic village
Quick guide
- Start with
- Take a guided tour, then examine how practical design expresses values of order, equality, and shared labor.
- Look closely at
- Compare herb gardens with working community; the relationship reveals something the headline feature alone cannot.
Know before you go
- Start with
- Take a guided tour, then examine how practical design expresses values of order, equality, and shared labor.
- Look closely at
- Compare herb gardens with working community; the relationship reveals something the headline feature alone cannot.
- Connect the story
- Treat craft, agriculture, worship, and today’s residents as one living system rather than evidence of a vanished community.
- Plan around
- Check the official calendar before leaving, then protect time for working community after Meeting House establishes the main story.
Good to know
Respect residential boundaries and worship life; museum tours and shops operate seasonally even though the community continues year-round.
Notice these
- Meeting House
- herb gardens
- working community