Shaker built

by Paul Rocheleau

In the nineteenth century, the Shakers were famous as the most successful utopian communal society in America. Social reformers from Emerson to Tolstoy hailed their progressiveness in issues including equality of the sexes, care of children and the aged, and pacifism. The Shakers loved God and each other and worked devotedly to build a physical and spiritual haven apart from the complications and competitions of "the World." With astonishing energy and simple goodness, they created a network of eighteen principal villages from Maine to Kentucky and established America's only truly national utopian effort. Today, the Shakers are nearly gone. Only a few members remain in a single community at Sabbathday Lake, Maine. But their buildings and villages survive to reveal their dedication to their founder's instruction, "Put your hands to work and your hearts to God and a blessing will attend you." They shunned what they judged wasteful and unnecessary, including ornament, devoting their creat