'Tis a Gift to be Simple: Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village

Whether or not you know much about the Shakers, you've probably heard the words of the Shaker hymn: "'Tis a gift to be simple." Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester, Maine, is home to the last active Shaker community, and a visit will allow you to appreciate the Shaker ideals of self-sufficiency and simplicity.

I took these pictures of Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village on an early autumn day in 2006, and I hope they will provide you with a glimpse of the Shaker way of life. As of 2011, there are only three remaining members of the Sabbathday Lake community, and with their devotion to celibacy and inability to attract many modern recruits, the Shakers are an endangered sect.

Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village and its museum and store are open to the public Monday through Saturday from Memorial Day through Columbus Day. The 1,800-acre complex is located just off Route 26 in western Maine.