Harrodsburg, Kentucky – The Shakers of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky had a connection to former President Abraham Lincoln. They shared with Lincoln the desire for peace during the Civil War and for the emancipation of those held in slavery.
In May 1864, the Shakers sent a box of preserves to the Kentucky native, along with a letter, saying, “We thought that some of the fruits culled from the soil of your native State, cultivated under the arts of peace, might be a savory to your palate, as the thousand and one perplexing cares that beset your overburdened mind from a world of strife.”
The Pleasant Hill Shakers also wrote to the President that although they took no part in the War, they “have a sympathetic feeling for suffering humanity, and are, and have been feeding your warriors, when occasion has called for it.”
In their journals, the Shakers made mention of Lincoln several times, including the Emancipation Proclamation and Lincoln’s assassination on April 14, 1865. In that entry, the Shakers wrote, “Peace, for the moment, has again fled from the earth, at witnessing this sad and awful catastrophe.”
To commemorate the Lincoln Bicentennial, Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill will hold a Civil War living history encampment. This event will feature Union re-enactors recreating scenes from Pleasant Hill journals and performances of traditional spirituals and music written by African-American Shakers.
Visitors can mingle with soldiers and civilians in period dress and learn how the Shakers cared for thousands of troops from both armies.
The Lincoln Bicentennial Civil War Encampment will be held on September 20, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and is included in the regular $14 admission fee.
Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is owned and operated by Shakertown at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational corporation. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a National Historic Landmark from boundary to boundary by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
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