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Mother Ann Lee's arrival in America
Mother Ann Lee made the monumental decision to lead eight Shaker converts on a journey to America, seeking the freedom to live, work, and worship according to their main religious tenets: celibacy, communal life, and confession of sin. Unwelcome in England, Lee immigrates to America with her husband and a handful of followers. She settles in Watervliet, near Albany, New York. -
Rebel Mother Ann
During the Revolutionary War Lee refuses to sign an oath of allegiance. This and her pacifistic views lead to her imprisonment for treason. -
Mother Ann's death
Mother Ann Lee dies on September 8 in Watervliet, New York. The church is subsequently led by Elder Joseph Meacham and Eldress Lucy Wright. Under their guidance, the Shakers establish the communal patterns of life followed by Shaker communities. -
First Shaker building is built
The first Shaker building is built in Harvard, Massachusetts. -
First Shaker community
The first Shaker community is founded in New Lebanon, New York. The movement begins to travel westward. Their communities win renown for their industry, craftsmanship and inventiveness. All are based on communally-owned property. -
New Lebanon sends missionaries
Ministry at New Lebanon sends three missionaries to Kentucky. They travel on foot covering over 1,000 miles in two to three months. They are aided by the genera, the spread of religious revivalism on the American frontier. -
Kentucky Shakers 1st building
In Pleasantville, Kentucky the Shakers build their first flawless building in a new medium – limestone. -
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Shakers travel
The Shakers reach their zenith with about 6,000 members living in 19 communal villages. Many other visionary and utopian communities begin to flourish during this period of American history as well such as the Oneida Perfectionists, and the Amana Society -
Draft Law enacted
The Draft Law of 1863 is enacted during the Civil War. Because they are pacifists, the Shakers refuse to fight. An elder travels to Washington to plead with Lincoln. Lincoln grants the Shakers an exemption from service. The Shakers are among the first in America to be granted the status of conscientious objectors. -
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Brooklyn Bridge
The church begins a campaign to find new converts as their membership diminishes. Industrialization brings new methods of production with which the Shakers cannot compete. The economic boom in the North proves enticing to many male members, who leave their communities.
Brooklyn Bridge construction begins; Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone; Tchaikovsky, "Swan Lake." -
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Shaker communities decline
Many Shaker communities begin to fold, one by one.
