Canterbury, NH

A Simple Shaker Legacy

Canterbury, N. H., has a country store, a village green, acres of fields and forests, and miles of stone walls. But all roads here seem to lead to a single destination—a hilltop where a bit of heaven on earth, a feeling of “kindly welcome” remains the hallmark of Canterbury Shaker Village.

Enormous trees line the road, dating from the 19th century when 300 Shakers lived worshipful lives here. Each tree, put down as a new Shaker joined the community, grew heavenward as those individuals also “grew where they were planted.”

Now a living museum, the village’s collection of 25 original buildings surrounded by gardens, ponds, and meadows recalls a way of life guided by religious teachings of gender and racial equality, common ownership of goods, pacifism, and celibacy. Shaker Sisters and Brothers saw each other only in passing at mealtimes and worship services.

One of 19 such communities in the eastern United States, Canterbury Shaker Village sees 60,000 visitors retrace its 200-year history every year—and experience its undeniable peace.

“The Shakers lived their belief of ‘Hands to Work and Hearts to God,’ and this is exemplified everywhere one looks,” says Jane McLaughlin, a staff member since 1982. “When people would say they ‘felt something’ here, the eldresses would smile and say what people were feeling was the Shakers who had left this earth physically but who would always come back to the place that they loved.”

The eldresses were Eldress Bertha and Eldress Gertrude. McLaughlin knew both of Canterbury’s last Shakers, in their 80s. In 1961, the few remaining Shakers opened the village to the public and helped establish the nonprofit organization that preserves it today. The last Canterbury Shaker died in 1992.

Most associate the name “Shaker” with a legacy of furniture, crafts, and song. Often misunderstood as austere or dour, the Shakers, or “Shaking Quakers,” whose religious roots originated in Europe, embraced joyful worship expressing itself in music and vigorous dance. It’s said that during their services neighbors miles away could hear the Shakers’ feet stomping the floorboards of the Meeting House, the first building they constructed when they established the village in 1792.

Shaker men and women are credited with scores of inventions and improvements in household and farming items. Canterbury’s huge laundry facility featured spin cycles and tumble dryers long before the 20th century, and the power plant that now houses the bakery was constructed of pressed tin to make it as fireproof as possible.

Shakers’ love of beauty can be seen in hues of sunflower yellow, deep red, apple green, and brilliant blue throughout the village. Shaker craftsmanship’s spare, clean lines merged beauty and utility in everything from buildings to the simplest tools. Known for their canny conservation of resources, they produced and marketed dozens of items from the gifts nature provided, including furniture and wood crafts, soaps and candles, brooms and baskets, spun, woven, and knitted goods, dozens of agricultural products, and a wide array of herbal medicines.

Today, local artisans pursue crafts inspired by the Shakers’ vision. David Emerson fashions Shaker-style furniture upstairs in the carpenters’ shop, while downstairs, Barbara Beeler crafts the oval boxes that have become Shaker signature pieces. Handmade reproduction goods are available at the museum store, and no visit to Canterbury should overlook the hearty Shaker fare—a legend in itself—at the village’s Creamery Restaurant.

Another simple gift of Shaker heritage is the noble aims it continues to inspire. McLaughlin recalls explaining to one tour group how the Shakers used their talents to the best of their ability because they felt God was always watching and giving new talents in reward. Later, a woodcarver on the tour stopped to tell her that he had rushed to get an order out the day before and knew he hadn’t done his best work.

“When he was reminded of the blessing of talents,” McLaughlin recalls, “he said he had decided to carve two more birds correctly and send them in replacement.”

Phyllis Edgerly Ring is a frequent contributor to American Profile.

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