Canterbury Shaker Village - National Park Service

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CONDITION 

(Check One) 

Excellent CEt Good D Fair D Deteriorated Q Ruins D Unexposed 

(Check One) 

(X] Altered K Unaltered 

(Check One) 

Moved El Original Site 

DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (if known) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE 

Shaker Village sits high on a hillside, virtually isolated by 

surrounding fields and forest, with a commanding view to the sout 

The property to "be nominated includes a village of twenty-two bui 

Ings occupying less than an acre, and roughly 420 acres of adjoining 

pastures, orchards, and woodlands which lie east and west of 

Shaker Road. Just north of the village is the old Shaker cemeter;r; 

o the east, hay fields sweep down to mill ponds constructed by 

Shaker brethren around 1800. Of the eight original ponds, 

1 

only 

now touch Shaker lands; the mills are also gone; the shore is 

overgrown by brush and marsh grass. Lake Meadow Brook, paralleli:ig ( 

haker Road along a north-south axis, bounds the property to the 

est; the southern boundary follows the dirt road which strikes 

oast from Shaker Road approximately a half mile south of the 

illage. At the road junction sits a granite watering trough 

hose corners mark the four points of the compass. The fields ar 

ilowed and kept up by a local farmer, but the Shakers themselves TO 

gave up farming after the death of the last brother some thirty- 

ive years ago. n 

With the exception of the brick Office (photograph 1), the 

rinciple buildings, which include dwelling houses, shops, stable 

carriage house, laundry, school, creamery, cannery, and infirm 

ary, are substantial, white-clapboarded structures whose simple, 

madomed lines clearly reflect the Shaker penchant for order, har 

mony, utility, and perfection in workmanship. The three-storied 

fliain Dwelling (photograph 2) with its blue-domed cupola dominates 

he scene*- The Meeting House (photograph 3) houses a musuem of 

haker artifacts* The 0f£iee£"Ministry,Meeting House, Sisters' 

hop, and School are open to visitors. As restoration proceeds, 

nore buildings v/ill be opened. 

Massive stone walls line the roadsides; white-board and pick* 

ences set off the village yard. Walks paved with hand-hewn granite 

labs lead from the street to the buildings. Giant maples, set oi.t 

and cared for by Shaker children during the late 1850's line the 

Shaker Road and the grassy lane leading from the street to the 

Continued on Continuation Sheet 1 _______________ 

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Form 10-300a 

(July 1969) . 

{Number alt entries) 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 

.^NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES 

3 INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM 

^ (Continuation Sheet) 1 

STATE 

New Hampshire 

COUNTY 

Merrimack 

FOR NPS USE ONLY 

ENTRY NUMBER 

Meeting House. Behind the School, east of Shaker Road, is an ar 

boretum, said to be New Hampshire's first, planted by Elder Henry 

Blinn in 1858 with trees representative of every specie native to 

2 

the state. 

Most of the buildings in Shaker Village were constructed dur 

ing the period 1790-1835, and were subsequently altered or mod 

ified by the Shakers themselves with the addition of ells, chim 

neys, and extra storeys. The Shakers also moved several building!j 

to new locations within the village. Enfield House (photo graph 4) 

originally located at the West Family(whose village ,now gone, t 

stood about one-half mile north of Shaker Village),was brought 

here in 1918, and for a time provided living quarters for the sis 

ters who moved to Canterbury after the disbanding of the Shaker 

Society at Enfield, N.H. Other buildings have been removed,de 

molished, or destroyed by fire, 5including the Great Barn, which 

burned to the ground in August 1973. 4 Nevertheless, Shaker Village 

today retains much of its character of a century ago, and gives 

visual testimony to the accomplishments of "this extradordinary 

5 

people." 

1 Farmers* Monthly Visitor. August 30, 1840(reprinted in Theo 

dore E. Johnson, ed. "Canterbury in 1840: A Distinguished Contemj- 

orary/Issac Hill/'s View,"The Shaker Quarterly,IV(Summer 1964), 

43-60(Fall 1964),83-96.). 

2 Information from Village curator Charles Thompson. 

Inventory, handwritten, of buildings and improvements at 

Shaker Village; kept at the Village. 

4 Martha Mae Emerson,"The Shakers 1 Largest Wooden Barn,"New 

Hampshire Profiles.XXIII(April 1974),50-53. 

5 _ 

Farmers * Monthly Visitor, op. cit.

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ZD 

UJ 

PERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate) 

| | Pre-Columbian ] I I 16th Century 

n 15th Century Q 17th Century 

SPECIFIC DATE(S) (II Applicable and Known) 

1792-1974 

AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or "More as Appropriate) 

Abor iginal 

( | Prehistoric 

Q Historic 

jfy Agriculture 

pC| Architecture 

D Art 

[ | Commerce 

| | Communications 

| | Conservation 

O Education 

|~l Engineering 

CJQ Industry 

Q] Invention 

|~l Landscape 

Architecture 

D Literature 

G Military 

ffi Music 

Q Political 

18th Century 

19th Century 

[J2 Religion/Phi- 

losophy 

| | Science 

| | Sculpture 

rj Socia l/Human- 

itarian 

Q Theater 

| | Transportation 

|| Urban Planning 

O Other fSpecffy; 

TATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE 

The lone" remnant of the four separate communities or "families 

hich once comprised the Canterbury Shaker Society, Shaker Village 

as been the residence of "Church Family" and the ruling Ministry 

ince 1792. Four Shaker sisters are living there today. Sabbathcay 

ake in Maine is the only other survivor of the nineteen once- 

4xisting Shaker societies in America. 

Shakerism took root in the Canterbury area amid a feverish 

which swejitn; Eew Hampshire in the early 1780 f s. An early 

cjonvert, Benjamin Whitcher, took in and housed local believers,and 

n 1792 donated the land v/here the village stands today. The Soqiety 

v/as formally organized in February 1792*$x the Meeting House 

as raised during the summer. Other dwellings, barns, shops, and 

heds were later added; fields were cleared of stumps and boulders 

onations and purchases brought the holdings of the Canterbury 

hakers eventually to 3,000 under acres. *"**^ ^ 

During the 19th centurv, such resourceful leaders as David Parker 

(1807-1867), Mary Whitcher(1815-1890),Henry Blinn( 1824-1905),and 

lorothy DurginC1825-1898),the Canterbury Society enjoyed considerble 

material prosperity, counting' 300)members at its height. It 

urvived a legislative investigation, and v/as renown for its chajrtable 

work. Decline set in after the Civil War; by 1925, the 

ther families had disbanded, leaving only Church Family. Total 

membership of the Canterbury Shaker Society is estimated to have 

been 746• 2 

Agriculture; The Canterbury Shakers, who operated a large farm, 

ere recognized for their innovative farming practice. Pure-blooded 

Berkshires from the Shaker herd helped upgrade the swine raised in 

the state. Among the first i&S -introduce-Durham cattle to the area, 

_______ __________ ______________ _ _ _ •--• ~ *•"•——^* *^—————————————————.———————————————— w 

Continued on Continuation Sheet 2.

Andrews, Edv/ard Deming. 0?he PeoD 

the Perfect Society, New fork 

IS. Called Shakers A Search for 

Boucher, Roland R.«0?he takers i: 

: Dover Publicati ons, Inc., 1953. 

ti New Hampshire . fl 

^ University of New Hampshire, , 

M.A. Thesss, 

Tune 1947. 

Brings, Nicolas A. "Porty Years < a Shaker, »!Dhe Gra 

(December, 1920), 463-474, IIII 

aite Monthly. LIT 

[ January, 1 921 )7T9" 

^ 5 ^76 5» (March, 1921), 113-121. 

-32 (February, 1 92 

^handler, Lloyd H. A -Visit to th( ^ Shakers of East Canterbury, N.H. 

ii.^., iay4. Continued on Continuation~Sheet 5. 

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES 

DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY 

CORNER LATITUDE LONGITUDE 

Denies Minutes Secpnds Decrees Minutes Seconds 

NW 4*«.Z1 - 52, 71o 30- 55- 

NE 43 o 21 , 52- 71 o 29' 26- 

SE 43o 21 , 11- 71o 29-26- 

. sw 43 o 21 . 11- 71° 30' BR - 

APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: 4.20 

LATITUDE AND LONGIT'JDE COORDINATES 

3 DEFINING THti 

|L1ST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES F.OR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES 

STATE: . CODE 

STATE: CODE 

STATE: CODE 

' . ' 

STATE: CODE 

NAME AND TITLE: 

Rexford Booth Sherman, PhD. 

COUNTY 

COUNTY- 

COUNTY: 

COUNTY: 

LONGITUDE 

Degrees Minutes Seconds 

o n 

ORGANIZATION ' DATE 

21 May 1974 

STREET AND NUMBER: 

Hope Farm 

CITY OR TOWN: 

Bradford 

li^î^îilliîiililli^îîlfM^^^^^^^ 

As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na 

tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 

89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion 

in the National Register and certify that it has been 

ftvaluated according to the c-iteria and procedures set 

forth by the National Park Service. The recommended 

level of significance of this nomination is: 

National [gj /' State Q Isocal Q-- 

Nalllti /(x»^*""^^%V«* """^ i ""f t^C-t-U 

Coinmissdx)ner , JDRED 

Title Sta-c^ His-t0ric Preservation Of fie 

Date April 30, 1975 

STATE 

New Hampshire 

CODE 

CODE 

CODE 

CODE 

CODE 

33 

I hereby, certify that this property is included in the 

National Register, . 

Director, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation 

'" Date f'7/f 

' (J\/L*C5^ 

Keeper of The National litA&istei 

1 /7 1** 

Date \0 * \ ft /J 

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1973-729-147/1442 3-\ 

D, 

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Form 10-300a 

(July 1969) 


: . NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES 

i INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM 

;o'' (Continuation Sheet) 2 

New Hampshire 

COUNTY 

Merrimack 


ENTRY NUMBER 

\ (Number all entries)/ 

feij Si^hil'icance* 

they later imported Gurnsey dairy cows from England. Until 1920, 

the Canterbury Shakers maintained large herds of prize-winning G-urnseys 

and Holsteins. Butter was manufactured in the village creamery 

The immaculate cleanliness of their barns drew universal praise. 

The Shakers were also skilled orchardists. Apples picked in their 

large orchards were sold fresh, dried, or as apple sauce. The packaged 

vegetable seed trade, which originated with the Shakers, was 

extensively followed by the Canterbury Shakers, who also sold medicinal 

preparations, developed by a brother, Dr. Thomas Corbett, 

made from vegetables grown in the village botanical garden. They 

also produced great quantities of maple sugar. 

Architecture; The village contains fine representatives of Shaker 

architecture. The Meeting House(1792),designed and built by Moses 

Johnson(the architect of nine other Shaker meeting houses),presen1s 

a long front facade with double entrances—left for brethren, right 

for sisters. Its gambrel roof—typical of Johnson's buildings— 

features dormers front and rear. The Main Dwelling(17$^) is a 

large, T-shaped building,3-storied, with fifty-six rooms. The 

upper floors contain living quarters and a chapel, the basement a 

large kitchen. Inside the belfry, added in 1832, hangs a 500 pounc 

Paul Revere bell. The Office(1831) is built of pressed brick manufactured 

locally by the Shakers and sits on a foundation of splil 

granite. The School(1823) was moved to its present site in 1862, 

and in 1868 raised 12' to permit the addition of a second storey. 

Industry: The Canterbury Shakers engaged extensively in small-scale 

manufacturing,both for their own use and for sale to the "world." 

Their products included furniture,.knitted sweaters,flannel cloth, 

baskets, cast iron stoves, a patented washing machine, brooms, caidiesticks, 

scythe handles, hosiery, clothes pins,wooden pails, sewing 

boxes, and grain measures. The popular Dorothy Shaker cloak(named 

for Eldress Dorothy Durgin), and Corbett f s Syrup of Saparilla were 

also manufactured and sold here. A small print shop set up by Elder 

Blinn made Canterbury the publishing center for the Shaker societies 

Continued on Continuation Sheet 3. 

GP 0 921-724

Form 10-300a 

(July 1969) .-, 

(Number all entries) '/' 


\x NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 


\-_\ INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM 

; r (Continuation Sheet) 3 

STATE 

New Hampshire 

COUNTY 

Merrimack 


ENTRY NUMBER 

Q / ••——-'• - Significance, 

g 

in the northern states. 

Music; Canterbury was a major center for Shaker music* Dorothy 

Durgin alone composed hundreds of hymns and is recognized as the 

foremost Shaker composer* Teachers sent from Canterbury gave musical 

instruction at the other Shaker societies. 

7 

Religion/Philosophy; The Shakers believed that carnal desire was 

the cause of all evil* Salvation came only after abandoning all 

pleasures of the flesh, especially sexual intercourse. They held that 

God had manif fested Himself on earth most powerfully in Jesus Christ 

and their own spiritual leader Mother Ann Lee(1736-1784). 

After years of persecution in England, where the sect originated 

and in America, where Ann moved with her followers in 1774,the 

Shakers decided to separate from the "world" by establishing selfsufficient 

communities, based on communist principles and devoted 

to the pursuit of their spiritual ideals. Similar experiments in 

communist living, including the so-called "Utopias"—the Rappites, 

Owenites, and others—which appeared in the same general period 

were relatively short-lived. Canterbury Shaker Village thus repre 

sents a unique chapter in the social and religious history of the 

United States/' 9 

1 

Roland R. Boucher,"The Shakers in New HampshireV(M.A. Thesis 

University of New Hampshire, June 1947), * 50-55,73. 

2 

Ibid.^62-76; Edward Deming Andrews, The People Galled Shakeis 

A Search for the Perfect Society(NY;Dover Publications,Inc.,1953), 

T09,290. 

3 

Farmers * Monthly Visitor« August 30,1840;Martha Mae Emerson, 

The Shaker's Largest Wooden Barn,"New Hampshire Profiles,XXIII(APIil 

1974)t57-59;Boucher,op.cit..70»73;Margaret Prisbee Sommer,The_ Shaker 

Garden Seed IndustryToid Chatham,NY;The Shaker Museum,197277TO-14, 22. 

4 

Marius B. Peladeau,"The Shaker Meetinghouses of Moses Johnson 

Antiques(October 1970),594-599;Barbara Snow Delaney,"The Shakers loday," 

2P_* cit.,618-620; Inventory,handwritten, of buildings and impr overrents 

at Shaker Village,kept at the village* 

Continued on Continuation Sheet 4* GPO 92!.724 

-1J7

Form 10-300a 

(July 1969) 




INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM 

(Continuation Sheet)** 

"Ntew 

COUNTY 

Merrimack 


ENTRY NUMBER QATE 

(Number all entries) 

8. Significance, 

5 Nicolas A. Briggs."Forty Years a Shaker,"The G-ranite Mon 

thly .LIII(February 1921),57-59; Sister Bertha Lindsay, Industri 

and Inventions of the Shakers—A Brief History(Canterbury.NH; 

The Canterbury SKakers,n.d.),passim; James 0. Lyford, History 

of the Town of Canterbury. New Hampshire 1727-1912(2 vols.,Con 

cord, NH: The Rumford Press,T9T2),I,366-367. 

6 Boucher, op, crt.,76; Marguerite Fellows Melcher, The 

Shaker Adventure(Princ eton,NJ; Princeton University Press,1940) 

135. 

7 Ibid.,220? Boucher, op. cit.,75-76; Briggs, op. crb.(Jan 

uary 1921),25-26; Sister Lilian Phelps, Shaker Musi£(Canterbury 

NH: The Canterbury Shakers), passim. 

8 Andrews, op. cit., 97-101;Lloyd H. Chandler, A Visit to 

the Shakers of East Canterbury»N.H.(n.p..1894)• - 47 

9 Andrews,0£. cit.,1-69,224-225,290-291; Alice Pelt Tyler, 

Preedom's Perment—Phases of American Social History from the 

Colonial Period to the Outbreak of the Civil War(Blobmington, 

MINN: University of Minnesota Press,1944},108-226.

Form 10-300o 

(July 1969) 





(Continuation Sheet) 5 


9- Manor Bibliographical References* 

STATE 

New Hampshire 

COUNTY 

Merrimack 


ENTRY NUMBER 

7 Wd 

Delaney, Barbara Snow. "The Shakers Today," Antiques(October 

1970), 618-622. 

Emerson. Martha Mae, "The Shakers' Largest Wooden Barn,"New 

Hampshire Profiles.XXIII(April 1974),57-59* 

Farmers * Monthly Visitor, August 30, 1840.(reprinted in Johnson 

———Theodore, ed. "Canterbury in 1840: A Distinguished Contem]> 

orary/Issac Hill/'s View," The Shaker Quarterly,IV(Summer 

1964;,43-60, (Fall 1964), 83-96T 

Lindsay, 'ClV, O Sister J.Q OtJI. Bertha. JJCJ. UXXCt. Industries J.AO.Vjl.M.0 00. J-vû «JJI\JL and Inventions •*•*•*•» _J:_. ^~ - of the. * • Z^^£= Shak ?rs- 

A Brief History. Canterbury,NH: Tne Canterbury Shakers,n. 

Lyford, James 0. History of the Town of Canterbury, New Hamp 

shire 1727-1912. 2 vols. Concord,NH: The RumfordPress, 

1912. 

Melcher,Marguerite Fellows. The Shaker Adventure. Princeton,NJ 

Princeton University Press, 1940. 

Phelps, Sister Lilian. Shaker Music. Canterbury,NH: The Canter 

bury Shakers, n.d. 

Peladeau, Marius B. "The Shaker Meetinghouses of Moses Johnson 

Antiques(October 1970),594-599. 

Proser, Jeanette. "The Shakers of Canterbury," New Hampshire 

Profiles(August 1960),27-31. 

Sommer, Margaret Erisbee. The Shaker Garden Seed Industry. 

Old Chatham,NY: The Shaker Museum, 1972. 

Tyler, Alice Felt. Freedom f s Ferment—Phases of American So 

cial History from the Colonial Period to the Outbreak of 

the Civil War. Bloomington t MINN; University of Minnesota 

Press, 1944. 

1.

Form 10-300a 

(July 1969) 


10. 

10.2 

. 

A//: 





(Continuation Sheet) #6 

GEOGRAPHICAL DATA, continued: 

UTM References 

Zone 19 

Point A: Easting: 2-97-300 Northing: 

Point B: Easting: 2-99-000 Northing: 

Point C: Easting: 2-99-000 Northing: 

Point D: Easting: 2-97-J150 Northing: 

STATE 

New Hampshire 

Merrimack 


ENTRY NUMBER 

_ LJ 

48-03-990^^ , 

48-03-900A/5 ~~ 

48-02-950 5£— ^ 

48-03-0255^ — 3> 

GP 0 921-724

CANTERBURY SHAKER VILLAGE 

• iMINISfRT 

• SHOP 

PHOTOGRAPH LOCATIONS 

MAP #1 

1"0 ' *ll\\ 

Area viewed^ I 1 \ I 

Camera position 1^

1 

I II 

JL.. 

SHAKER 

VILLAGE 

PROPER 

Waterii 

Trough/^ 

Photograph 

#6 


PHOTOGRAPH LOCATIONS 

111. 

MAP #2 

1"«800» 

Area Viewed 

Camera Position .on *"J» 

Property Boundary •»•»

0 

e: 

pqSH 

PH 

PH 

0 

rt 

rt. 

ARBORETUM 

SCHOOL 

H pq 

i 1 

BRDOM 

CART 

SHED 

o a SHOP 

* 

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a 

ENFIELD 

MEETING HOUSE LANE 


1" = 80' 

KEY 

Hard surfaced road-- ----- 

Walkway — — - — -*«_ 

RUINS OP GREAT BARN 

.UTILITY ROAD- 

CREAMIRY 

PAINT 

SHOP 

MEN*S NORT 

SHOP 

HOUSE 

o 

HA 

___ 

DWELLING LING-J, 

V/OOD SHED 

J 

!——I 

SISTERS* 

I SHOP j 

—H 

• 

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^_i 

* 

MINISTRY 

42 21' 33" 

EAST 

HOUSE

43 21' 52" 

43 21' "11" 

tn 

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p 

"*^ch 

rt 

CO 

i „ — - - -+ r f 

CEMETARY JJJ 

SHAKER 

VILLAGE 

PROPER 

CO 

in 

in 

SHAKER VILLAGE AND OUTLYING PROPERTY 

1"=800» & I 

KEY -| 

Hard surfaced road='--"^-~ " - ~ - 

Dirt road i-L——-—- ;—— _—:-..—..,... .. s 

Property line ~ ~* -{• -^ •— *^- < 

43 21« 52" 

43 21' 11" 

PEARL 

CORNER

Canterbury Shaker Village - National Park Service

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