Colonel Jethro's Dispatches from the Field #1

in #travel6 years ago (edited)

I reckoned it was time for me to do something a little different, so please allow me to introduce the inaugural edition of Colonel Jethro's Dispatches from the Field. This will be an ongoing (if not regularly scheduled) feature covering my travels and adventures in search of photos. Part history lesson and part travelogue, Dispatches will hopefully provide some background for the photographs I post.

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Obligatory shot of one of the handmade wooden spiral staircases in the Trustees' House
(The Shakers were famous for their woodworking)

On my latest adventure a companion and I meandered through central Kentucky to visit the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill. The Shakers (officially known as the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing) were a sect that splintered from the Quakers in the mid 1700s. Called Shakers due to their antics during worship services, they originated in England before spreading to the northeastern areas of colonial America. With the Second Great Awakening came a renewed religious fervor in the United States and the Shakers decided to capitalize upon that, sending missionaries westward to establish new religious communities. Pleasant Hill was one such community, established in 1805.

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Old road sign in the middle of the village

The Shakers lived a celibate and communal lifestyle, practicing pacifism and equality of the sexes as well. At Pleasant Hill they were divided into five communal families of 50 to 100 members. Each family had their own (rather large) dwelling, as well as shops, barns, gardens, orchards, and other outbuildings (they even had a public water system, using horse-power to pump water to a water house and gravity to feed it from there to the various buildings). The Shakers quickly gained renown as excellent farmers and craftsmen and their community prospered, eventually expanding to over 4,000 acres. Societal changes and the effects of the Civil War (and possibly celibacy) led to a gradual decline of the community, with only 34 members remaining in 1900 (down from a peak of almost 500), and in 1910 the community was dissolved.

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The white building was a medical office at one point, the larger red brick building was the West Family house

The weather was less than cooperative for our visit but we still managed to get a few hours in outdoors before it came a proper gullywasher and forced us indoors (while I love thunderstorms, my camera does not). This turned out to not be such a bad thing as there was just as much to see and shoot indoors. Many of the buildings and rooms were set up much as they were when the Shakers were flourishing there.

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Bedroom for one of the 'Sisters'

After dodging raindrops and exploring buildings for a while, we had worked up a powerful hunger. Luckily for us, they'd turned part of the first floor of the Trustees House (essentially City Hall for the Shakers) into a restaurant which boasted of farm-to-table ingredients. I don't which farm they came from but they sure tasted good. (Side note: The upper floors of the building, as well some of the other buildings are actually guest rooms you can stay overnight in) With bellies full of vittles we resumed exploring again.

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Horse powered laundry. Not sure where you plug the horses in though

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As the community aged and declined, more and more infirmities had to be accommodated. Here one of the famous Shaker rocking chairs has been converted into a wheelchair

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I was in a reflective mood...

We were disappointed to discover that the Meeting House (their church) and the massive Centre Family Dwelling were under repair but there were still more buildings to explore than we had time for.
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East Family Brethren's Shop, was a woodworking shop

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Farm Deacon's Shop, the first permanent structure in the Village

Sooner than we preferred it was time for us to mosey back up the road to home. To make this a little easier to bear we'd already begun planning our return trip.
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This view of the rolling hills of the Bluegrass is one of the reasons why we intend to return

That's all for now folks! Like what you read or have questions? Just drop me a comment!

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