After Ann Lee joined the Shakers, she had a revelation in 1770 that lust was the root of suffering and that a celibate lifestyle was the cure. After facing religious persecution in England, she led a group to New York City in 1774. Eventually, the group formed almost 20 Shaker Villages ranging from Maine to Kentucky, including two villages in New Hampshire.
Get N.H. Morning Report
A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox.
The Shakers first arrived in New Hampshire in 1782, when two missionaries came to preach a sermon in Loudon, according to Kyle Sandler, director of interpretation and education at the Canterbury Shaker Village.
At its peak in the 1850s, the Canterbury Shaker Village was home to about 300 people who lived and worked in 100 buildings on the 3,000-acre property. Sandler said the Shakers had good timing, riding a wave of religious revivals called the Second Great Awakening, at a time when the rural countryside was shaken by the ongoing conflict of the American Revolution and looking to their faith for strength.
Plus, he said, communal living had its own appeal, for spiritual and practical reasons.
“Your soul gets nourished. But you’re also in a community where you don’t have to worry where your next meal is coming from,” said Sandler.
And he said the celibacy requirement was likely both a draw and a repellant. For women, it was a way to avoid forced marriages and the life-threatening dangers of childbirth, and in some cases, it offered an escape from unhappy domestic arrangements. Plus, the Shakers practiced an early form of gender equality.
But celibacy also represented a threat to the traditional family structure.
“When Canterbury is founded in 1792, the neighbors are not necessarily thrilled about it,” Sandler said, noting that it wasn’t until the late 1850s that attitudes about the Shakers started to shift.
By then, they started earning a reputation for being honest, reliable, and generating economic wealth in the community, he added.
The village remained active for about 200 years, until the last practicing Shaker who lived there died in 1992, and the property became a museum.
There are still three Shakers who live at the Shaker Village in Sabbathday Lake, Maine.
Sandler said the film should be seen as an artistic rendering, not a faithful replica of historical reality.
“It’s already prompting people to ask questions about the subject and want to learn more,” he said.
This story appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. To receive it via email Monday through Friday, sign up here.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.
