On Saturday, the HH and visited the Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, New Hampshire for their Traditional Craft Days event. I had seen a few pictures from one of their previous events at the farm and wanted to make sure we didn’t miss this one. I’m so glad we went!!
“Canterbury Shaker Village was established in 1792 when followers of founder Mother Ann Lee formed their seventh community in Canterbury, NH, which remained prominent for 200 years. The Village has operated exclusively as a museum since 1992 when the last Shaker sister in residence, Ethel Hudson, died.
The few remaining Shakers live at the Shaker Village in Sabbathday Lake, Maine. At its height in the 1850s, 300 people lived and worked in over 100 buildings on 3,000 acres at Canterbury Shaker Village.”
The old power house with it’s slate rood and tin siding.
We got there just as the gates opened and were pleasantly surprised at how low key and relaxed the atmosphere was. There were tents set up in several different places all around the village and several artists doing demonstrations in various buildings on the property.
Basket weaving. It’s on my list of classes I want to take. It was pretty cool to watch someone strip a log. Can you imagine how long it would have taken to make enough baskets for your entire household 100, 150 years ago? Laundry baskets, firewood baskets, baskets for the kitchen etc.
I don’t know if I would have looked more forward to summer or the winter months back in the day.
One of my favorite parts about visiting the Canterbury Shaker Village was seeing all the art in motion and the different out buildings and how they would have been used. Broom making. That’s another class I would like to take. Many of the buildings on the property are set up in a classroom type setting for the various workshops the offer. {I think the Shaker box making class might be in my future.}
I don’t know about you, but I think it’s pretty cool that the classes are offered in the same buildings the Shakers themselves would have used.
We were watching a family with 4 children over by the blacksmith area, and the kids were asking questions, helping the blacksmith and you know what, there wasn’t an electronic device or screen in sight. It was lovely. The kids were truly interested and they were learning.
If I was the parent of small children today, I would definitely home school. There is just so much to see, so many hands on opportunities and real, practical learning that can happen outside of the classroom.
Those wheels! They seem so delicate. I can’t help but wonder how many times a wheel has fallen off a cart like this.
The shaker school house. I think it was my favorite building in the whole village.
The loo.
I think the spot on the right would have been the one for me. Less markings where the boots would have hit the baseboards.
Those wooden stairs!
I must admit, I have this thing for banisters in old houses. I have to touch them on the way down. I like to think about all the people who had walked down those stairs before me and the lives they went on to live and all the things they saw in their lifetime. Kind of creepy, but also, pretty sobering.
Upstairs at the schoolhouse. It’s a pity every school in America isn’t on a farm.Ā 
The creamery. Or rather, the little cafe at the village where you can sit down for a little cuppa or a quick bite to eat. And those chairs! š You can see a map of the property HERE.
If you ever find yourself in the middle of New Hampshire, you MUST visit the Canterbury Shaker Village. We are already looking forward to our next visit.
Hey! It’s Tuesday, get out there and enjoy the day. š
~Mavis
Canterbury Shaker Village
288 Shaker Road, Canterbury NH 03224
Audra from Ohio says
We spent our anniversary weekend at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. It was FANTASTIC. We loved spending the night in an authentic Shaker inn. We spent two nights and two days there and could have happily stayed longer.
Kristina Zack says
Interesting to see a schoolroom in a Shaker community. For members who converted after having had children?
Mavis Butterfield says
They also took in orphans.
chickengrandma says
I home schooled 3 of our kids. It was a lot of work but was worth it. One got into a 4 year college, one got into the Navy, and the third is a stay at-home mom. A lot of learning on the fly. They would complain when we went somewhere and say, “Is this going to be educational ?” They grow up so fast.
Teri says
Is this where you bought your new broom?
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes! š
Margo says
Went there a number of years ago and hope I will be able to go visit again some day. Do they still show the laundry? I’ll never complain about doing the laundry again!
Mavis Butterfield says
They probably do, we didn’t look in that building though.
Lolly says
Lol, as you described the kids….I thought, they are most likely homeschooled. Then you mentioned homeschooling. š We’ve homeschooled ours from the beginning, and we love it! We’re going on vacation in late sept/early oct….heading to dc when it’s not as hot nor as crowded (we hope!) as the summers are. Funny….our “vacation” will also count as school days…..just don’t tell my kids!!! I love how curious our kids are….and just how much they love to learn. They groan and complain when the schoolbooks come out every Aug….but this summer they begged to take online classes 2 weeks after school was over….so I take their complaining with a grain of salt! š
Diana says
This was a treat. I’m captivated by anything Shaker. There is beauty in even the most plain, functional things they created.
Lana says
Homeschooling was my life for 24 years. Five kids all the way through and 4 got full tuition scholarships to college. It is not for the faint of heart!
Cristina says
Wow, kudos to you! I’m a working, homeschooling mom only 5 years into my journey, currently about to start homeschooling my 3rd. I agree, it is the most exhausting and rewarding thing I have ever done. It’s so encouraging to hear others who have successfully homeschooled their children, thank you for sharing!
Patti says
Beautiful. It always amazes me the talent our ancestors had, and also saddens me that so many of these skills/talents have been lost. Thank you for sharing. Iām enjoying all your day trips.
Linda says
It was at an historic Mormon village that we watched a man teach kids how to make jump ropes. I love living history places. Our daughter also went through a phase of learning survival skills so I recognized the drop spindle from her experience living on a sheep farm. She also learned blacksmithing and butchering and other very useable skills. She’s also the one who taught me that hanging clothes outside to dry in winter is fine as long as you don’t bring them in while they are stiff; still means they still have frozen water in them so you need to wait until they soften. My 5th grade teacher taught us basket weaving and candle making, etc., as part of our history classes. So many skills, so little time.
DebbieB says
I would love to visit there, especially the school. My mom grew up in a coal mining town in western Maryland. From her stories I picture her classroom in the 1930’s looked like this. It was one room and there were so few kids, all grades were in the same room. In the winter it was the boys’ job to keep the woodstove going. And then there was the outhouse! How wonderful to see these places preserved so people (especially today’s children) can appreciate how hard life was in the past.
Carol S Hager says
I know how you feel about banisters. When I visited Buckingham Palace last September all I could think about was the Kings, Queens and Prime Ministers that had touched this very same marble.
Debra Ralph says
I love getting onto the computer everyday while I eat my breakfast and logging onto your site. It is so entertaining, educational and always makes me smile. We live in Australia and would love to visit America one day and it is so interesting to see the places you visit and everything you do around your property. Love it , Love it .
Keep up the good work.
Debra
Judy says
Oh, those beautiful spoons!!
Brenda says
You need to take the ride to West Springfield, MA for the Big E! Early September 21 days of fun! Plan on 2 days, stay in the area and enjoy New England for all it has. My mom used to live across from the main gate and we parked cars for years in her yard. I have yet to go to a fair that offers as much to see and buy as the BIG E!!! https://www.easternstatesexposition.com/
Renee from Wisconsin says
I homeschooled my two youngest kids (3 total). When we went on vacation out west, we visited every Laura Ingalls site on the way there and back. We did a unit study and read all the books the previous year for school. My daughter was big into Laura. I made her a prairie dress and bonnet for the trip. She already had black tights and shoes. No matter how hot it was she wore her outfit to every site. I was awesome getting pictures of her in the same area that Laura had been. We also had to get a lunch pail, tin cup and slate with a slate pencil. She even bought her McGuffy reader so she could do school as Laura did. She was the only one who dressed for the sights and she didn’t care. I think if she was in regular school someone would have crushed it to where she wouldn’t do it. It was one of the best vacations we had.
Norma Champlain says
I love this!
Janice Wilhelm says
I visited here in 1993 with my father & husband. My father has since passed on and I’ve been trying to remember the name of this place for years. Thanks to your pictures for helping me locate this wonderful place.
Linda Practical Parsimony says
I know a man who cuts down the white pine trees, and cuts the strips to weave baskets. I have about a dozen of his baskets. I suppose I will have to buy from his nephew. You can tell when a basket is made from handhewn pines rather that from a factory because the strips are not all the same width.