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Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield MA | |
| This is New England's most prominent and elaborate settlement of the Shakers, those devout people who lived lives of piety, kindliness, mutual support and hard work. | ||
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by Tom Brosnahan |
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Hancock Shaker Village (tel 413-443-0188), on US 20 near Pittsfield MA (map), is one of the most fascinating sights in the Berkshire Hills. Until 1960, the village was home to members of a religious sect nicknamed the Shakers, noted for their quiet, simple lives, hard work, and quality handicrafts. These good people treated even daily tasks as an art. They made such beautiful, honest things that Shaker designs are still admired and copied. Twenty of the original Shaker buildings at Hancock have been restored, furnished with artifacts of Shaker life, and staffed with men and women who can explain and demonstrate the customs of the Shaker life to you. Prime of place goes to the famous Shaker round barn, a large cylinder of carefully-laid stone beautiful in its design, workmanship and efficiency. (There's a similar Shaker round barn, a full-size copy of the Hancock original, at Heritage Museums and Gardens in Sandwich MA on Cape Cod.) Hancock Shaker Village is open May through October, 9:30 am to 5 pm daily; 10 am to 3 pm in April and November. To find it, drive north from West Stockbridge 9 miles along MA 41, then west on US 20 to the outskirts of Pittsfield MA and Hancock Shaker Village. Hancock Shaker Village
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The great round barn at
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