SOUTH UNION SHAKER VILLAGE

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This week's Object from the Outer Branch is a manuscript that was added to the collection this week. The post card, written by Urban Johns to George Harris of Franklin, Kentucky, offers a look into the business dealings of the Shakers in 1877. Urban Johns came to South Union as a boy and rose to leadership in his adulthood. In this manuscript, Urban Johns is declining the opportunity to purchase grapes for making wine as they already had a supply. The Shakers at South Union were making wine for sale, but also for their own consumption. We are grateful to have received this rare document as a donation to the collection! Many thanks to Case Antiques for sponsoring this series!

This week’s Object from the Outer Branch is a manu…

Objects from the Outer Branch: Lollipop Grave Marker - This week we are featuring a fragment of a cast iron grave marker, referred to as a "lollipop" marker. These markers, which take its name from the distinctive shape, can still be seen intact at Harvard, Massachusetts. The fragment we are highlighting today memorialized Margaret Pickens, a woman who joined the Shakers at South Union in the 1830s and passed away in the 1850s as a result of typhoid. Thank you to Case Antiques for sponsoring this series!

Objects from the Outer Branch: Lollipop Grave Marker

This week we are featuring a fragment of a cast ir…

Objects from the Outer Branch: Post Office - This week we are sharing part of the Shakers' Post Office from the turn of the 20the century. The Shakers first post office was established in 1826 in the community, and the South Union post office operated until 2005. Today, June 20, the US Postal Service is commemorating 250 years of Shakers in America with a set of 12 stamps that feature iconic Shaker images. South Union is featured in two of these stamps with the front hall of the Centre House and several silks from the village. At SUSV we are celebrating 250 years of Shakers in America with our Annual Appeal. If you would like to contribute our preservation efforts, visit our website at www.southunionshakervillage.com Thank you to Case Antiques for sponsoring this series!

Objects from the Outer Branch: Post Office

This week we are sharing part of the Shakers’ Post…

Part Two of our “Objects from the Outer Branch” featuring this basket made by Robert Houston. This week we are discussing the person who owned the basket, Cyrus Blakey. Blakey was one of just a handful of South Union Shakers who was actually born in the community. Thank you to Case Antiques for sponsoring this series!

Part Two of our “Objects from the Outer Branch…

Objects from the Outer Branch - This week we are highlighting a South Union basket that was used at the North Family, and likely made by Robert Houston. Watch to learn more about Robert and his story at South Union. Thank you to Case Auctions for sponsoring this series!

Objects from the Outer Branch

This week we are highlighting a South Union basket…

This week our “Objects from the Outer Branch” features two planes owned by Robert Johns. Watch to hear the story of how another Shaker accurately predicted his death. Thank you to Case Antiques for sponsoring this series!

This week our “Objects from the Outer Branch” …

Objects from the Outer Branch - This letter and envelope came to the museum this week, and both feature the name “WJ McGown” along with an image of a Shaker window sash balance. McGown was a trusted business leader within the community for many years, but left in 1876 and started a new life in Texas. According to newspaper articles, McGown used the business acumen he gained in the community and amassed a fortune in his new venture. Thank you to @case_auctions for sponsoring this series!

Objects from the Outer Branch

This letter and envelope came to the museum this w…

Today’s “Objects from the Outer Branch” features a very special item from the collection that belonged to Eldress Malinda Buchanan. This snuff box was gifted to her from Union Village Sister, Eunice Patterson. Malinda’s role is significant in Shaker history as she was the first Kentuckian to rise to the rank of Eldress among the Kentucky Shaker villages. We are appreciative to Cheryl Kline for donating this snuff box to the museum’s collection. Many thanks to Case Antiques for sponsoring this series!

Today’s “Objects from the Outer Branch” feat…

Objects from the Outer Branch: Nancy Moore’s kerchief - To celebrate #Women’sHistoryMonth, we are highlighting an “Object from the Outer Branch” today that belonged to one of the most influential women at South Union, Eldress Nancy Moore. This kerchief is one of several objects in the collection that belonged to Nancy Moore. Her named is penned in ink by hand, and as well as being stamped. Thank you to Case Antiques for sponsoring this series!

Objects from the Outer Branch: Nancy Moore’s kerchief

To celebrate #Women’sHistoryMonth, we are highli…

Continuing to honor #BlackHistoryMonth, we are featuring another remarkable Black Shaker for this week’s “Objects from the Outer Branch.” David Barnett was born in 1795 and first appears in the records books in 1821. During his life at South Union, he was prolific mason and stone cutter. He made bricks for some of the most significant buildings in the community, and even produced 8,000 bricks in one day for the 1824 Centre House. Watch to learn more about David’s life as a Shaker and see objects from the collection that relate to his experience. Many thanks to Case Antiques for sponsoring this series!

Continuing to honor #BlackHistoryMonth, we are fea…

Objects from the Outer Branch - In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth, this week’s feature for “Objects from the Outer Branch” is an oval box that belonged to one of the free people of color living at South Union, Hannah Freehart. Hannah and her family were brought to South Union as enslaved people, but were free people in the community. Throughout her life as a Shaker, Hannah served as a nurse in the Centre Family and later as an Office Deaconess. Hannah, her mother Betty and sister Eunice, all chose to remain at South Union for the rest of their lives and are buried here in the cemetery. Thank you to Case Auctions for sponsoring this series!

Objects from the Outer Branch

In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth, this week’s feat…

Objects from the Outer Branch - This week’s episode of “Objects from the Outer Branch” continues with two more objects related to Benjamin Seth Youngs. This letter he wrote to the leadership at Enfield, New Hampshire and a copy of the “Summary View of the Millennial Church” that was given to him from leaders at Hancock Shaker Village. Thank you to Case Antiques for sponsoring this series!

Objects from the Outer Branch

This week’s episode of “Objects from the Outer…

Objects from the Outer Branch - Introducing our new video series, “Objects from the Outer Branch.” Every two weeks, we will share an artifact or manuscript from the collection that is rarely available to the public. This week, we have pulled from the archives a pocket map and four almanacs, each belonging to South Union’s first elder, Benjamin Seth Youngs. Many thanks to @case_auctions for sponsoring this series!

Objects from the Outer Branch

Introducing our new video series, “Objects from …

Preservation Update: Kitchen Door Reproduction We have had another door reproduced in the Centre House, this time in the kitchen. As you can see, there is clear evidence that a door used to hang between the kitchen and the dining room. Thanks to our craftsman, Roger Ryan, for reproducing the door exactly how the Shakers would have made, and to John and Linda Tanner for funding this project. Be on the lookout for an update where we paint the door using recently revealed colors!

Preservation Update: Kitchen Door Reproduction W…

Preservation Update: The Big Reveal! As mentioned in previous videos, we have been sending Susan Buck several different samples of wood taken from baseboard, chair rail, and doors, to be microscopically analyzed. After she performs her analysis, she provides us with a color match of a @benjaminmoore paint color. The room you see here has recently been painted with the colors that the Shakers would have seen when they moved into the Centre House in 1833. As you can see here, the colors are rich and vibrant! We are grateful to Susan Buck for her work that helps give us an accurate depiction of how the Shakers lived.

Preservation Update: The Big Reveal! As mentione…

Preservation Update: More Paint Analysis! Over the past few months we have highlighted the restoration process of analyzing small samples from woodwork and utilizing the correct colors in our period spaces. Today we show you the newly analyzed woodwork in the 1835 Milk House!

Preservation Update: More Paint Analysis! Over the…

Preservation Update: The South Union cemetery.

Preservation Update: The South Union cemetery.

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SUSV

South Union Shaker Village

1-270 542 4167

896 Shaker Museum Road
Auburn, KY 42206

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