North Union Shaker Site

Introduction

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North Union Shaker Site was founded by Shakers in 1822 and was added to the National Register in 1974. The Shakers ran grist and grain mills from the lakes created when they dammed Doan Creek. The community ceased to exist in 1899. All of the buildings that had been part of the North Union Shaker community have been demolished, and 280 of the original 1,000 acres are Shaker Lakes parkland, which includes walking trails and a Shaker archaeological site, the Shaker Historical Museum, and Library.

Images

Old Stone Gristmill in 1899

Mill Family House in 1899

Undated photo of Ralph Russell. Courtesy of the Shaker Historical Society

Undated rendering of Sidney Rigdon, prominent Shaker of North Union and convert to LDS church.

View of Horseshoe Dam along walking path in the park as it is seen today

Painting depicting Shakers at a revival service. Courtesy of the Shaker Historical Society.

Backstory and Context

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Ralph Russell, a local of the modern day Shaker Heights area, convinced his family to convert to the Shaker sect and established the North Union Shaker Settlement in 1822 with just over eighty individuals on 1,000 acres of donated land.

In 1826, the group dammed Doan Brook, thus creating the Lower Lake and establishing a gristmill and a sawmill. Later, in 1854, the community built a second dam creating the Upper Lake, and constructed another mill. Also called 'The Valley of God's Pleasure', the colony peaked around 1850 with about 300 settlers. The Mill family was established about 1826 to run the mills, which produced lumber and milled grain. The Gathering Family was established in the community.

Around 1831, as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church) moved their headquarters to Kirtland, Ohio, missionaries from the church (sometimes Joseph Smith, the founder, would go with them) proselyted at this Shaker Community, along with other ones and converted many Shakers to the LDS faith. One of the prominent preachers of the Shaker faith, Sidney Rigdon, joined the LDS and played critical roles in the LDS church's early history in Ohio, Missouri, and some in Illinois until his attempt to take over control of the church failed and he was excommunicated.

As the Shakers practiced celibacy, the colony faded away and was closed in 1889. In 1905, the land was bought by brothers M.J. and O.P. Van Sweringin who envisioned the first garden-style suburb in Ohio for the site. The brothers constructed homes, set aside land for churches and schools, and planted trees. None of the buildings from the North Union Shaker community remain.

Of the land that had been owned by the Shakers and was donated to the City of Cleveland is the Shaker Lakes Parklands. The park includes lakes created by the Shakers, walking trails, the Shaker Historical Museum, and an archaeological site where the Shakers' houses had been demolished.

Today, only one "society" remains in the control of the last Shakers, located at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Glouchester, Maine.

Sources

Tarunjit Singh Butalia; Dianne P. Small. Religion in Ohio: Profiles of Faith Communities. Ohio University Press; 2004. p. 101–106.

Mary Lou Conlin. The North Union Story: A Shaker Society, 1822-1889. 1961.

Bruce T. Marshall. Shaker Heights. Arcadia Publishing; 2006. p. 7–32.

Caroline Behlen Piercy. The Valley of Gods̓ Pleasure: A Saga of the North Union Shaker Community. Stratford House; 1951.