Pleasant Hill, Kentucky ยท 1855
The Barren Faith
The Shakers of Pleasant Hill, KY
J.B. Fox
Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, 1855. Bound to the Shakers at four years old, Thomasin Pruitt must sign the Covenant and stay, or walk out the gate to the mother waiting on the Salvisa road with a blue calico dress. Cholera is coming up the river.
The Shakers
The Shakers, formally the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, lived in celibate communal villages and were known for their worship in dance and their simple, careful craftsmanship.
Pleasant Hill
Pleasant Hill in Mercer County was one of the largest Shaker communities in the country, founded in the early 1800s. Its restored buildings survive today as Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill.
Cholera
Cholera swept through the United States in repeated waves during the nineteenth century, and Kentucky was hit hard more than once.