sabbathday lake shaker village

I learned a lot about the Shaker religion, its history and beliefs by taking the tour and visiting the onsite museum. The museum has many objects and photos but is static, so I ran out of steam by the last couple of rooms (and I'm a pretty serious museum-goer). This place isn't going to wow your kids, but for adults who want to take a little time to learn, it's a pretty rare opportunity.

While there are only a few buildings to see, and we took a self-guided "tour" , I was very glad we saw Sabbathday.; it is a national historic landmark. The red brick meeting house (not open for tours , at least the day we were there), dates to 1794. It is mainly for people very interested in the history of New England and religion in America, ... definitely not a "tourist attraction". Shakers came from England, and as a "off shoot" of Quakers; since my family in 1780s were Quakers, that interested me. I also enjoyed the gift shop... they had some very nice, simple items , herbs, and information.

One of the last remaining, actively working Shaker Village and Farm. A one hour tour will provide you with dialog and history about the original and current Shakers in the U.S., particularly those here in the Sabbath Lake area. The guided tour will take you through several of the buildings on the grounds and an extra self-guided tour in others. There are still three Shakers that reside and work on the premises and it would have been very enlightening to have been able to sit and chat with them a bit.

This place is absolutely fascinating. The tour is incredibly informative and our guide was extremely knowledgeable and well able to answer all questions from the group (and there were a lot of questions!) Before this visit, I really didn't know anything about Shaker's. Which of course is why we went; so we could learn. I had no idea that Shaker's were so forward-thinking, inventive and community oriented. I don't believe I could embrace the whole way of life for myself, but I have the utmost respect for them and know that we could all learn from their example.

Excellent guided tour (an essential part of this experience) and interesting museum exhibits. Tour covers current shaker community, shaker beliefs, some history of this community. A much smaller Shaker village than Pleasant Hill KY, Hancock MA, or Canterbury NH, but well worth the visit.

Opted for the guided tour. It was great to see the interior of the meeting house. Interestinginsights into Shaker life.

This was a very interesting place. Looked through the free areas, didn't pay the $10 to see the other museum. And the gift shop was closed for lunch. But they had a small area when you first went in the free building that sold "Shaker" things. I bought all the pieces to make a Shaker basket, which they are known for. Their thinking is quite interesting.

My daughter read the "Dear America" book about the Shaker life and decided that we had to visit the Shaker village. This was a very eye opening visit to learn about a culture we knew very little about. If you don't pay for the tour, there is a small exhibit upstairs from the reception building you can visit for free. Otherwise, you can pay $10 / adult and $2 /child for the hour-long tour. The tour goes through two buildings and has some nice artifacts exemplifying Shaker craftsmanship and life in the early from the early 1800's onward. The main meeting room was built in 1794. It is pretty interesting to see how the Shakers adapted their lifestyle through the 1800's and beyond to try to stay contemporary and relevant. It is sad to know that this is the last Shaker village in the world and that there are only 3 remaining Shakers alive. Our guide told us that most of the Shaker culture was passed down orally and that they used to have over 25,000 Shaker songs that were regularly used in their worship. Now, there are only about 10,000 have been documented.

A very small place, and not all that much to see, but still worth the drive. The guided tour was very informative. It would not be worth the drive without access to the restricted buildings that comes with the guided tour. Pay the $10 for the tour!

I'd read about this little slice of history and it was only 30 minutes from Freeport, so we wanted to stop. This village was built by the little-known religious community of Shakers. They settled here in the late 1700's and are still working the farm and lands today. The amazing thing to know is that there are only 3 Shakers left in the world, and they are right here in Maine! I disagree with those who say that this village isn't worth the trip. I think it is definitely worth it, and take the tour as it is a must. Yes, you only are allowed into two buildings, but the hour-long tour is a wealth of historical information about a religion with only three members left, in the world. The Shakers are celibate, and you must ask to join, and then live there for a "internship" before being accepted; thus the reason, we guess, for the decline in membership. There is a gift shop and great little museum. If you are familiar with simple, clean lines of Shaker furniture, it originated with this religious group. We thought it was a special place, a surprise that should not be kept a secret and we were so glad to visit this unique village.

After watching a Ken Burns documentary of the Shakers I made this a priority when visiting Maine with my children. It turned out to be one of the high lights of our trip. The countryside is so beautiful. I so enjoyed the tour of the buildings including the meetinghouse. I am planning another trip with a friend and will be stopping by here again.

We live in nearby Falmouth, Maine and the Shaker Village at Sabbathday Lake is a place we often take guests, especially international guests who have never heard of the Shakers. They are always fascinated. The Village is about 25 miles from downtown Portland, a 40 minute drive. The docents who give the tours are very competent. In the fall, the small store at the Village sometimes sells the honeycrisp apples grown on the Shaker farm. Those apples are simply the best I have had in my 73 years of sampling all over the world. We have not visited in the last year but have been five or six times in all over the past nine years.

We visited here as my wife has been to amish communities is other parts of the country. We took the tour and found out there are three living shakers left here. You visit the meeting room and sleeping areas of another house. Not worth the time or money.

We had a nice visit at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village. Our tour was very personalized with only 4 of us and the guide. We were able to ask multiple questions and learn a lot about the village. We have been to the Hancock, MA and Enfield, NH shaker villages and there were similarities of course. This village is smaller but the history was well-documented and explained. And for shoppers, the gift shop is large and has a vast variety of shaker and local goods. Definitely, go into the store even if you don't have time for the tour.

I had heard of The Shakers, but had no idea what they were all about. The settlement has tours led by volunteers that are wonderful. You will be glad you stopped.