Museum Directory

South Union Shaker Center House and Preservatory

About South Union Shaker Center House and Preservatory

South Union Shaker Center House and Preservatory is a historic Shaker building on U.S. 68 in South Union, Kentucky. It was built in 1822 and added to the National Register in 1974. Located within the building is the Shaker Museum at South Union.

South Union was one of 24 villages built up by the Shakers. During the village's 115-year history, the Shakers constructed over 200 buildings, worked 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) of farmland, and produced garden seed, fruit preserves, brooms, baskets, rugs, linen, hats, bonnets and silk to be used both within the community and sold to the outside world. One of the best known Shaker songs today, "Love is little," originated at South Union during the 1830s.

The Shaker community there was disbanded in 1922, and the property sold to the Benedictines in 1949. There, they established an interracial monastery, the first of its kind in the United States.

As of 2010, there was only one Shaker community remaining active, the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village located at Sabbathday Lake, Maine.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

More museums in South Union →Best museums in Kentucky →

Photos of South Union Shaker Center House and Preservatory

  1. South Union Shaker Center House and Preservatory, Kentucky01KentuckyE.R. Pearson · Public domain
  2. Interior of Centre House, South Union Shaker Village, Auburn, Kentucky02Interior of Centre House, South Union Shaker Village, Auburn, KentuckyCharlie Miller · CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. Shakerhouse03ShakerhouseCrystal Chapman · CC BY-SA 3.0
  4. Shaker Hotel04Shaker HotelMkcd1973 · CC BY-SA 4.0
  5. Shaker Village Centre House05Shaker Village Centre HouseMkcd1973 · CC BY-SA 4.0
  6. Site of the Shaker Village Steam House, Cow Barn, Cow Barn Cistern & Silo06Site of the Shaker Village Steam House, Cow Barn, Cow Barn Cistern & SiloMkcd1973 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Shared by photographers under free licenses on Wikimedia Commons. Tap a photo to see it full size there.

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Nearby museums

Make a day of it. 4 more museums are within 13 miles of South Union Shaker Center House and Preservatory; the closest, Shaker Museum at South Union, is practically next door.