"Do all your work as if you had a thousand years to live, and as you would if you knew you must die tomorrow"

-Testimonies of the Life, Character, Revelations and Doctrines of our ever blessed Mother Ann Lee (Hancock, Massachusetts 1816)

  The Shaker Heritage Society, founded in 1977, is a non-profit historic preservation group which runs interpretive educational programming about the Shakers and their influence on the region; it is also actively concerned with preserving the integrity of the Watervliet Shaker Historic District, America's First Shaker Settlement (Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.).
   The Church Family site, where the Society's offices are located, is the heart of the 770 acre historic district; eight remaining buildings, fields, apple orchard, Ann Lee Pond and nature preserve, and the Shaker cemetery, comprise an intact, contiguous site.
   The 1848 Shaker Meeting House serves as headquarters for its educational activities. It offers special group tours of the building and historic district, guided tours on Saturdays, craft courses, workshops, lectures and numerous annual events throughout the year; there is also a gift shop.