enfield shaker museum

The Great Stone Dwelling is home to the Museum.The Museum displays a collection of Shaker furniture, tools, clothing, photographs and agricultural items.In summer months, visitors can explore the herb and flower gardens as well as enjoy the exhibits, special programs, concerts and guided tours The Enfield Shaker Museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places,

The shaker "compound" covers quite and area. I'm so glad that it has been preserved for posterity as there are no living Shakers left in America (or anywhere else - that I know of). I can remember when the numbered less than 60, that was when I was a young teen and then the last two sisters died off in Maine some time ago. The grounds are worthy of a 1/2 visit or even just a little over an hour if you wish. We can never go back, but places preserved in this way are worthy of our attention. Take the time to see their way of life.

We love museums so decided to check this our. The lady gave us a paper for a self-guided tour. We could not go in some of the buildings but there is still plenty to see.

A five plus story stone building dominating a campus in a very rural setting very intriguing, made all very explainable by an engaging and well informed guide. Definitely worth a detour and tour.

What a wonderful surprise. We were fortunate in having the director of the facility as our guide and so were able to pepper him with questions. I knew little about this religious "sect" but left full of both knowledge and admiration. The built in drawers and huge walk-in cupboards were marvellous. The history chart in the school is really interesting and shows the quality of the children's education. Most of all I think I admire their industriousness and adoption of the technology of the time. A visitor gets to see machines such as an automated knitting machine a also products of their needlecraft.There are picnic tables on the grounds.There is also a beautiful chapel of a Roman Catholic order and a paper at the door tells you the very interesting history related to it.I would allow 2 -3 hours for a proper visit.

The Shaker Museum is a very nice museum--I wish we'd had more time to spend there. You should allow at least a couple of hours to make sure you see everything. They start with a nice film that provides good background and history. Educational stop--wish we could have stayed longer.

I took the guided tour and learned a lot of interesting facts about the Shakers and how they lived. The guide was very informed and the furnishing and equipment are original. They have different models of equipment as they updated things over the years.

Kate at the Enfield Shaker Museum was a very understanding and patient tour guide for a couple of people both fascinated with the Shaker way of living and their beliefs, but also very naive. Her in-depth knowledge of the Enfield community, the building design and construction and their crafts and industry gave us a practical glimpse into an innovative and industrious society of the 1800’s to the early 1900’s. On a contemporary basis, this is beyond current day ‘Green’ rhetoric and was a truly sustainable community. This is a tour that should not be missed if you are ever in the area.

We went to Enfield early this month (July 2014). It was a complete waste of time. We've been to Canterbury (excellent) and Hancock in Massachusetts. Looked forward to Enfield - but it was awful. Person in museum shop didn't know anything - only one building to tour - no place to eat - very small shop and very few items in shop. I don't recommend it all - it is hard to get to and not worth the effort.

We learnt a lot. It was very interesting, and the knowledgable staff are obviously enthusiastic about their involvement, which makes it even better to hear their comments.

At its height in the mid-1800s, the Enfield Shaker community was home to three "families" of Shakers comprised of Brothers, Sisters, and "foster" children who lived, worked, and worshiped there. The centerpiece of this small Shaker museum is the Great Stone Dwelling House (c. 1840), the largest Shaker dwelling house ever constructed and now home to the museum and gift shop. After viewing a short video describing the history, religion, and lifestyle of the Shakers and the Enfield Shaker community, the two of us were treated to a personal tour of the museum by a very knowledgeable and engaging docent who seemed happy to answer the multitude of questions with which we peppered him. The pace of the tour was very relaxed, and we were encouraged to spend as much time as we liked viewing exhibits, examining the buildings, and touring the grounds. In addition to the Great Stone Dwelling House, the site includes the Ministry House, East and West Brethren's workshops, the dairy/laundry, the 1854 barn, and, across the road, the old stone mill. Adjacent to the dwelling house is the Mary Keane Chapel (c. 1930) built by the missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette after the property was purchased by the Catholic church. The sanctuary of this chapel features a Casavant organ and beautiful German stained glass produced by the Zettler Studios. During our visit, students and faculty from the Center for Advanced Musical Studies were staying on site and performing free concerts in the Mary Keane Chapel. A long tradition of gardening and seed production at the Enfield Shaker Village continues in the form of the Community Garden, which promotes sustainable, local, organic gardening and is open to the public for viewing. It is also possible to hike up Mount Assurance to the village "feast grounds," where the community held special gatherings and which still offers impressive views of the village. Lodging is available in the Great Stone Dwelling House for groups who book at least five of the approximately twenty bedrooms available. No photography is allowed inside the Museum’s historic buildings (except by special permission and an appointment), but exterior photography is permitted with an admission ticket. This small museum is big on showcasing the "Shaker Way" of community, faith and harmony.

This is my second to a former Shaker Colony. My first was on the grounds of ALBANY INTERNATIONAL Airport that was equally nice. The visit here was very instructional because I was lucky to get a one-on-one private tour and I asked lots of questions about the place's wood structure, its organization, its many crafts, the bridge they built across the lake with wood cribs filled with boulders, about them owning and renting out mills, about the water system distributed by conduits and pierced logs,about the kind of food and about their vow of chastity...lol.Great place to visit if you have an enquiring mind because the legacy of the Shakers is huge, be it in furniture, ethics,equal rights, foster care, chanting and danciing, machining and sheer ingenuity. The big house which lodged over 100 people in its heyday and was separated in the middle , half for men and half for women with each having their own staircases. You can ring the bell or even stay there overnight. I didn't get to see the barn but it's your standard two-story barn where the Shakers kept goats, sheep, poultry and cows. No pigs, considered too dirty. If you're from Europe and want to live something truly American , you should consider staying overnight. Truly American but the Shakers had many first generation British, German and Dutch members.so you can see the European influence. There is also a covered bridge across the little river that runs to Lebanon, about 2 minutes from the 89 turnpike.2 Huge trusses and steel bars carry the load of the bridge. Same system was used in the great house in Enfield.

This is a small Shaker museum, smaller than others such as Pleasant Hill (KY) and Hancock Shaker Village (MA). Its centerpiece is the Great Stone Dwelling, built around 1840 for the Shakers and the largest dwelling house they ever built. The tour was very informative about the lives of the Enfield Shaker community. There are a few other buildings on site that you can walk through or around - the Brethren's workshop, the dairy/laundry, the 1854 barn, an old stone mill. Also a beautiful decommissioned church built around 1930 when the Catholic church owned the property. We were there for a needlework retreat, so stayed there for four days (the Great Stone Dwelling is available for groups as lodging). Rooms were clean and spacious, although some bathrooms are a bit cramped. It was very peaceful to stay there. Would be an excellent venue for a family reunion or wedding (I believe there are 28 guestrooms).

Museum is located in the Great House built in the 1800's at the Shaker site. Tour will show you how they lived and explain their history and their involvement in the area. Interesting sliver of history for what seems a peculiar notion when viewed from out time.

There are some beautiful rooms to admire here: quintessentially Shaker. The tour is definitely worth it, even if the site seems smaller than some of the other Shaker museums.