A Shaker Community

Peter Foster
Diagram of the South Part of
Shaker Village, Canterbury, NH
Manuscript map
Ink and watercolor on paper, 1849
Geography & Map Division (25.2)

The first English Shakers arrived in New York in 1774, eventually attracted a large following, and established more than twenty communities, like this one at Canterbury, New Hampshire. Emphasizing the importance of inner, spiritual "vision," the Shakers--not unlike other dissenting religious sects and communities of their time--tried to create an enclave protected from the chaos and disorder that they believed had come to characterize American life. Foster's key at the right of the page lists the function of each building.