The Great Stone Barn at the Shaker community at Mount Lebanon was a wonder of its time. After a devastating fire in 1972, only its masonry walls still stand. David Stocks, President of the Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon, will give an illustrated talk on “The Great Stone Barn Project: Past, Present, Future” to the Stephentown Historical Society on Monday, June 2, at 7:30 pm. The meeting will be at the Stephentown Heritage Center on Garfield Road (County Route 26), Stephentown. The program is free and open to the public. The building is handicapped accessible. For directions or information, phone 518-733-0010.
Formalized in 1787, the Shaker Society at New Lebanon, NY, was the largest Shaker community, with over 600 people living in eight communal “families.” Mount Lebanon was the center of Shaker national leadership, the settlement from which the Shakers’ “gospel order” was developed and disseminated to their other communities. The North Family site at Mount Lebanon today contains 10 of its original buildings, including the remains of the 196 foot long Great Stone Barn, the largest stone barn in the nation when built in 1859.
The Shaker Museum and Library was founded in 1950 in Old Chatham, NY. Its object and library collection, numbering over 70,000 items, is considered the most comprehensive Shaker collection. In 2004, the Museum became the owner and steward of the North Family site at Mount Lebanon Shaker Village. The Museum is transitioning there and currently offers seasonal exhibits and programs. A new, year-round museum facility and programs are planned.
In 2013, the Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon began a $2 million project to stabilize the Great Stone Barn, which will be completed in July of 2014. Stocks will explain the significance of the structure and tell about ongoing work and plans for the future.