The Village

What is White Water Shaker Village?
White Water is one of 24 communal villages founded between 1787 and 1824 by the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, generally called "Shakers." It is the only one of four Ohio Shaker villages retaining most of its original buildings in their original settings.

Where is White Water Shaker Village?
The village is located twenty-two miles west of downtown Cincinnati and five miles from Interstate-74 in the Miami Whitewater Forest Hamilton County Park near Harrison, Ohio, on Oxford Road between New Haven and the Butler County line.

Why did  Shakers settle here?
The nucleus of the White Water settlement formed in 1822 when members of the Union Society of Shakers from Lebanon, Ohio, came to share their religion with a group of settlers living near the Mt. Tabor Methodist church, Morgan Township, Butler County. They soon found rich soil, abundant timber, and the flowing stream of the Dry Fork of the White Water River in Hamilton County?s Crosby Township and established the Village here. Early converts donated their properties, thus enlarging White Water's holdings.

What was it like to be a Shaker at White Water?
Intensity of religious fervor motivated construction of the first permanent brick structure, the meeting house, in 1827, followed by a large dwelling in 1832, then workshops, a trustees’ office, barns, corn cribs, milk houses, smokehouses, a mill, and other dwellings. Crops of broom corn were the first to be planted, from which brooms were assembled for commerce. The Shakers thrived with sales of seeds, brooms, fruit products, wheat, sorghum, and livestock. As a communal society, no property was individually owned. All members participated in labors for the good of all. A principle of Shaker beliefs is celibacy; Shakers depended on attracting converts and adopting orphans.

What happened to the Shakers?
Following the Civil War, village population waned as strict Shaker religious practices lost appeal in favor of the liberal ways of the “world.” Industrial manufacturing reduced the market for handmade goods; the Shaker seed market declined and was discontinued at White Water; farm labor had to be hired from the "outside" neighborhood. A fire in 1907 destroyed the largest dwelling, a popular Elder died in 1910 after a prolonged illness, and the Shaker school was closed  all contributed to the demise of the community of White Water.

What happened to the Village?
The parent ministry at Canterbury, New Hampshire, sold White Water to private owners, prompting the last two Shakers to depart from Harrison in 1916. The Shakers of White Water  Village were officially commemorated by the placement of a large granite memorial by the Canterbury Ministry in the center of the village cemetery. The marker honors all the Shakers who had lived and died here. For the next 70 years, the former Shaker farms provided livelihood to several independent families. The cemetery was neglected until 1984 when two individuals restored it. Now  the responsibility of Crosby Township Trustees to maintain.  The school was razed to make room for cultivation. The great cow barn was dismantled for building materials. The Center west bank barn was struck by lightning and burned. The granary at the South Family burned. The North Family bank barn was neglected until it collapsed.

But many wonderful buildings still survive!

Who owns White Water Shaker Village now?
The Hamilton County Park District purchased land between 1989 and 1991 to expand the Miami Whitewater Forest in northwest Hamilton County. About 600 acres included in the purchase had once belonged to the Shakers, and there stand more than twenty Shaker-built structures that comprised the White Water Shaker Community.

How is White Water Shaker Village being preserved?
The Park District removed post-Shaker structures and stabilized, cleaned and painted the remaining buildings. Due to the Park District's mission focus on outdoor recreation and preserving land and habitat for wildlife, and concern for the high cost of restoration and upgraded infrastructure the Village would need, no restoration, beyond preservation and stabilization, has occurred.

The buildings have a story to tell, but at this time, are silent.

What is the future of  White Water Shaker Village?
Friends of White Water Shaker Village, Inc. is working with staff of the Park District to develop preservation, conservation and restoration strategies. Funding will be the key. We believe that the village is an important part of the cultural heritage of America and should be open for all to learn about Shaker communal history, their place in American architectural history and the importance of preserving examples of our past.