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Shaker Museum

Explore over 18,000 objects

The world’s most comprehensive collection of Shaker objects.

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History of The Shakers

Shaker Museum elevates Shaker material culture to animate Shaker values and beliefs and inspire individuals and communities to deepen bonds and seek meaningful approaches to social, economic, environmental, and spiritual issues.

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Featured Blog Articles

Mountain seeding gorseberry.
The Mountain Seedling Gooseberry plant is blooming!
May 20, 2020
Last spring, through the efforts of Darryl Thompson, the current authority on varieties of fruits and vegetables developed by the Shakers, the Shaker Museum received a rooted cutting from a gooseberry plant that is thought to be a direct descendent of a variety of gooseberry...
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A black and white illustration of a house at night.
How the Shakers turned "A Dark Day" into a foundation for the future
May 6, 2020
On May 19, 1780, the skies over New England and New York darkened for a full day. In the preceding days, the sun and moon had appeared red-tinted, and by noon of May 19, the sky was nearly dark as night. It was known as “The Dark Day.” One contemporary observer wrote, “Th...
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Sharon Koomler

Collections Manager

Sharon Duane Koomler is a Shaker scholar and traditional letterpress printer living in upstate New York. She has academic degrees in American Folklore from Indiana University and Western Kentucky University. Sharon has worked at Shaker Museums from Kentucky to New Hampshire as an educator, curator, consultant, and director. She has written and published on Shaker material culture and spirituality, and lectured widely on Shaker art, life, and belief. Sharon has a particular interest in the under-researched social aspects of Shaker life and ways in which Shakers practiced inclusion and intentionality.