Holy Hill
A hiking trail off S. Shaker Rd in Harvard. It was originally the site of outdoor worship services by the Shakers in Harvard.
History and Background:
In 1842 all Shaker communities received orders from church leadership in New Lebanon, nY to pick a spot for outdoor worship on a high elevation. These were called “feast grounds.”
The chosen location Harvard was called the Holy Hill of Zion and was within easy walking distance of both the Church and South families.
From Shaker journals, some details of the construction process are known. The Church Family planted the road to Holy Hill with sugar maples and the South Family made a cart road. They cleared the hill, leveled a half-acre plot, enclosed the plot with a fence, and provided outdoor seating. The fence surrounded a hexagonal area in the center, called the fountain. They also erected a marble slab, called a “Lord’s Stone,” with inscriptions on the site.
This site was used for outdoor worship for about 10 years. Meetings on Holy Hill were held on the Sabbath and during the week, but were closed to the public. They included dancing, symbolic bathing in the fountain, and feasting on spiritual food.
In 1853, an order was sent out from New Lebanon to end the practice of outdoor worship. Each community hid or destroyed its marble slab.
The whereabouts of the Harvard Stone is unknown.
Conservation:
In 1972 Harvard residents created the Shaker Village Historic District. The Conservation Commission, aided by state and federal funding, saved the Holy Hill of Zion from development by purchasing 103 acres, including the Holy Hill and Maple Lane. The “dancing ground” was cleared and a reproduction fence was built. (Note the use of metal to anchor the fence, preventing rot.)
When the site was dedicated on May 21, 1976, Eldresses Bertha Lindsey and Gertrude Soule of Canterbury, New Hampshire, attended the ceremonies. Thunder and lightning during the ceremony seemed appropriate to the occasion.
References:
- https://www.harvardshakers.com/holy-hill.html
- https://www.shakermuseum.us/a-mysterious-chip-off-the-old-block?nocache=1