Design is fine. History is mine.

Shaker Design. Blanket chest, c. 1840. Made for the Community. Mount Lebanon, NY. Benjamin Rose Collection. Photo SFO Museum.

Mount Lebanon, New York

Following the death of the founder of the Shakers, Mother Ann Lee, in 1784, Father James Whittaker (1751–87) established the Mount Lebanon Shaker Community in New York. Under Whittaker’s leadership, and later under the administration of Joseph Meacham (1742–96) and Lucy Wright (1760–1821), Mount Lebanon became the premiere spiritual and industrial center and served as a model for all other Shaker communities to follow. During its most prosperous years, six hundred members built hundreds of buildings on more than six thousand acres of land. Mount Lebanon’s buildings also served as architectural models for other societies. The first meeting house, built in 1785, was not only the first building at Mount Lebanon, but also the first Shaker meeting house in North America.

The community was originally referred to as New Lebanon due to the close proximity of the town of New Lebanon. In 1861, the Federal government officially recognized the community as “Mount Lebanon” and allowed the Shakers an independent post office. The Mount Lebanon community specialized in chair making and manufactured more chairs for sale to the World than any other Shaker village. The community remained active until 1947.