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Shaker Village
Harvard Shaker Village
Harvard’s history includes many experiments with alternative lifestyles, beginning with Shadrach Ireland in the northeast corner of town. He fled to Harvard to establish his own religious community, proclaiming his immortality. When he was proved mortal, his Square House was passed on to Mother Ann Lee, whose group of Shakers established a small village that occupied the area from the 1790s to 1919. Now private homes, the Shaker Village Historic District preserves the aura of the Shaker settlement.
The Barn
Map
The South Family Stone Barn on South Shaker Road was built in 1835. The barn was designed for efficiency, like most Shaker buildings, with a ramp which allowed wagons to be driven directly to the upper level to be unloaded and arches to allow easy wagon access to the lowest level. Money earned from the sale of turkey feather fans was used to build the barn, and Shaker journals record the gift of 30,000 white pine shingles for the roof from two New Hampshire Shaker Villages. The building suffered from roof damage and structural collapse before 1974. The partial East end wall, the graceful arche, and the ramp are still visible today.
