January
America 250 - Ohio's January theme is Ohio's Firsts and Originals.
White Water's Meeting House is the only brick Shaker meeting house built in Ohio and the only one of the two brick Shaker meeting houses built in America remaining. The other brick meeting house was at South Union Shaker Village in Auburn, Kentucky.
According to the Millennial Laws (first written in 1821), Shaker meeting houses were to be built of wood, painted white, and have two separate entrances, with the door on the left for men (Brothers or Brethren) and the door on the right used by the women (Sisters).
February
The Shakers are known to have innovated many tools, machines, goods, and practices throughout the years. When completing tasks for a large group of people living together, finding ways to streamline the processes would prove invaluable. There were many skilled craftsmen and women living in the Shaker communities throughout America.
Elizabeth Yuko recently wrote an article for the History Channel about some Shaker innovations. Make sure to follow the links within “How the Shakers Improved These 4 Everyday Objects” (https://www.history.com/art.../shaker-innovations-inventions) to see some of the artifacts and learn more.
In the book The Shakers of White Water, Ohio, 1823-1916, two successful innovations are noted as having occurred at White Water – a steam-powered grindstone used to sharpen shears and an apparatus for steaming meal and bran for cow feed (Innis, Jr. & Sakmyster, 2014, p. 200).
An unusual & innovative economic venture that took place at White Water in the 1880s was fish farming (Innis, Jr. & Sakmyster, 2014, p. 201). Charles Sturr created a system of connected ponds on six acres and stocked them with 10 fish in 1881. By 1884, the ponds were reported to contain at least 40,000 fish, mostly German carp. Sturr assisted some local farmers in setting up their own fish ponds and began selling fish for stocking. By the late 1880s, yearly income reached $350, which has an approximate value of $11,000 today.
Innis, Jr., J.R. & Sakmyster, T. (Eds.). 2014. The Shakers of White Water, Ohio, 1823-1916. Richard W. Couper Press.
