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The Rise and Fall of
The Enfield,

Connecticut

Shaker Village

hen thinking of the many villages created by the Shakers,
the one located in Enfield, Connecticut may not be the
Wfirst to come to mind.
Few realize that the founding member of this Shaker Village,
Joseph Meacham, worked here with Mother Ann, and
founded the rules and lessons that all the Villages followed.
That it was where the tremendously successful Shaker Seed
Enterprise began.
Called The City of Union, this village also saw its share of
violence against Shakerism, helping to save the life of Mother
Ann when attacked by a mob during her visits to the Village.
This Village brought forth enterprise, wisdom, and guidance for all
Shakers in this New World.

The Timeline for Founding of the Enfield, to tar and feather the worshippers. Thanks to an intervention made by
Connecticut Shaker Village Revolutionary War veteran Elija Jones, Mother Ann and her followers
were safely escorted out of town.
1782: Mother Ann returns to Enfield to meet with John Meacham
1774: Mother Ann Lee arrives in America with her husband, and once again the Shaker community is attacked, this time by Captain
Abraham Stanley, and seven followers. The group settles in New York, Charles Kibbe and a group of 20 to 30 men. They were determined to
where Abraham abandons Ann, and the drive to recruit members of the stop this sect from practicing Shakerism and broke into David Mecham’s
Shaker religious community begins in earnest. home where the group was taking shelter. The house was severely dam-
1780: Joseph Meacham, a native of Enfield, Connecticut, was a aged, as was David Mecham. Enfield Constable John Booth broke up the
Baptist preacher living in New Lebanon, New York when he heard about mob, who later found themselves in court. The Shakers requested that
the Shaker movement. Meacham converted, taking many of his followers members of the mob confess their actions to their own church and when
with him. Within one year of his conversion, Meacham created an they refused, they were tried, found guilty, and fined.
Enfield, CT community thanks to his knowledge of the fertile farmland 1783: Mother Ann returns to Enfield. Thanks to the intervention and
and his family connection. Thanks to his brother David, there was fines placed by the court on those who participated in the mob in 1782,
already a home with land that would become the start of the Enfield things remained calm. By this time, the mob action in 1782 deterred any
Shaker Village. further protesting and as a result, more converts joined the Shakers. The
If the Meacham name sounds familiar, it should. Joseph Meacham community was growing.
rose to the top of the Shaker leadership in 1789, helping to establish 1784: Mother Ann dies on September 8, and the new Shaker leader
New Lebanon, New York as the center of the movement. His relation- James Whittaker, who came over from England with her, helps to add
ship with the illiterate Mother Ann, translating her visions and wisdom more structure to the Shaker communities for their safety and mutual
into rules and lessons, and other leaders within the Shaker community, benefit.
made him an effective prime mover and builder of the Shaker religious Early 1780s: The Enfield, Connecticut Shaker community is estab-
foundation. lished. Officially, this did not happen until after 1792 when the New
1781: Mother Ann makes her first visit to Meacham’s house in Lebanon community was established. The village was called “The City
Enfield. During services, a mob of townspeople broke in and threatened of Union.”

32 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles