Shaker Village – Herb Dry House

Published: May 15, 2026

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The Shakers in Harvard became one of the major producers of medicinal herbs in 19th-century America. By the 1840s, the Harvard community alone was selling nearly 200 kinds of medicinal herbs, along with extracts, powders, oils, and patent remedies. This charming building was made of stone due to the disk of fire during the drying process.

Two of the most profitable industries in Harvard were the herb and seed businesses. After its start in the 1820s the herb business became the most lucrative. By 1845 the Shakers were selling 197 kinds of “medicinal herbs,” eight varieties of “sweet herbs in canisters,” and 13 “extracts.” In 1848 they built the stone Dry House drying the herbs and began construction of a large herb house they finished in 1850, which is now gone.

Some of the better-documented herbs they sold included: sage, thyme, sweet marjoram, summer savory, lavender, lemon balm, hyssop, rosemary, rue, dill, fennel, pennyroyal, bloodroot, elder, witch hazel, sarsaparilla, horseradish, yellow dock, spearmint, and peppermint

The Harvard Shakers also processed and sold:

  • dried roots such as dock and pond lily root,
  • distilled floral and mint waters,
  • herbal extracts,
  • ointments,
  • and proprietary medicines such as “Shaker Vegetable Family Pills” and sarsaparilla syrups.

In addition to drying herbs and fruits, Shakers also processed dock, flag, pond lily roots, and other roots by drying and powdering them for sale. Large quantities of horseradish root were dried as well.

They developed a national reputation for purity and accurate identification of medicinal plants, which mattered enormously before modern pharmaceutical regulation.

Videos

This video shows the eastern facade of the structure.

This video shows the southern facade of the structure.

This video shows the northern and western facades of the structure.

And in this video, you can explore the interior.

“…It is settled to build a dry House The walls to be stone and arched over head with brick and to be nearly or quite fire proof throughout”
—1848 Shaker journal entry