Shaker Church Family Dairy & Weave Shop, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA. Surveyed as HABS MASS,2-HANC,3-, with 1 photograph, 1 measured drawing and a 865-word written history.
“Date of erection: Unknown; possibly early ! .s. 2.”
Written record, HABS MASS,2-HANC,3- survey. Machine-read text.
surveyed by the federal HABS program as HABS MASS,2-HANC,3- · the record runs 865 words · one of 80 surveyed structures published for this county.
1 photograph and 1 measured drawing from the federal survey record, Library of Congress.
Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MASS,2-HANC,3-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.
Community. PART I, HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History: 1. Date of erection: Unknown; possibly early ! .s. 2. Architect: None. 3. Original and subsequent owners: United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing; Shaker Community, Inc. h. Builder, suppliers, etc.: Unknown. Elder William Deming may have been the supervising joiner and mason; or it may have been Daniel Goodrich, Sr. or his son Daniel Goodrich, Jr. who had charge of the temporal concerns in the early years of this society. 5. Original plans, construction, etc.: It seems that the original building was in the nature of a storage building or barn as the framing was rough and the details cruder than would be expected in a more finished building.
The area of the original building was approximately two-thirds the area of the present first floor. The original building was one-and-a-half stories. It is doubtful that this building originally housed the spinning and weaving industry. In when David Lamson wrote about the Hancock Church Family, he mentions three houses which once stood to the west of the brick dwelling house.
One of them, he writes, "is designed as the sisters' workshop; where their sewing, and some of their spinning and weaving are done." This building was taken down by the Shakers in the (Photographs are available from Shaker Community, Inc.) West of this "sisters' workshop" there originally stood the other two houses, one a brethren's "nurse shop" SHAKER CHURCH FAMILY DAIRY AND WEAVE SHOP (SHAKER CHURCH FAMILY SISTERS* SHOP (SECOND)) HABS No. MASS-726 (page 2) and the other a sisters' "nurse shop." For convenience, we have called the dairy and weave shop the sisters' shop because it is used chiefly as an exhibition area for sisters' industries, complementing the brethren's shop opposite it, which is being prepared as an area to show materials relating to the brethren's industries.
The last uses that the Shakers themselves made of the building were weaving, dairying, and cheese making. (The Historic American Buildings Survey refers to this building by its Shaker name, not its present exhibition name.) 6. Alterations and additions: The additions to the building are of greater area than the original. In addition to approximately ten feet added to the south, the full width of the building, a full second story and attic area were added. B. Historical Events and Persons Connected with the Structure: None. C. Sources of Information: 1. Old views: Several early views are now the property of Shaker Community, Inc. 2.
Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MASS,2-HANC,3-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.
Chiefly oral tradition from Shaker sources. Lamson, David. Two Year's Experience Among the Shakers . West Boylston, p. 16. Taylor, Bayard. At Home and Abroad: A Sketch-book of Life, Scenery and Men . New York and London, pp. 3. Sources not yet investigated: Official Hancock Church records - when located. Prepared by Edward Deming Andrews Curator Shaker Community, Inc. March 22, (Section A, by Terry Hallock, Architect) PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION : A. Description of Exterior: 1. Foundations: The original building's stone foundation SHAKER CHURCH FAMILY DAIRY AND WEAVE SHOP (SHAKER CHURCH FAMILY SISTERS' SHOP (SECOND)) HABS No. MASS-T26 (page 3) is the only area fully excavated. 2. Structural system, framing:' The construction is a typical joist and beam type.
The building underwent extensive alteration when the south wing and second and third floors were added. However, much of the original building frame remains and is incorporated into the final framing system. Details of framing members of the original building were re-used as floor joists in the more recent construction. 3. Openings: a. Doorways and doors: There are two types of doors, both are four panel, one raised and the other flat panel. There are stone steps to entrances with wrought iron rails. b. Windows and shutters: The windows are eight-over- eight lights. Prepared by Terry Hallock Architect Shaker Community, Inc. PART III.
PROJECT INFORMATION The information in this report is incomplete, but has been included in the Historic American Buildings Survey's, collection because of the special knowledge of the authors. Edward Deming Andrews, a notable author on Shaker history, religion, and arts, compiled the historical data. The restoration architect of the Hancock Shaker community, Terry Hallock, supplied the architectural data. June,
| Hancock, Massachusetts | The place record: every map, photograph and survey of this town. |
| Berkshire County, Massachusetts | 397 topographic sheets across the county. |
| Library of Congress record | The original filed report, and the sheets the survey produced. Those published here appear above. |
The federal surveyors worked through Hancock building by building. These are the other structures they measured and filed a report on, longest report first.
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