Believers in Dixie: A Cultural Geography of the Kentucky Shakers

The Kentucky Shakers were distinct from those of Ohio and the Northeastern
United States because they were products of the cultural environment of the Upper
South. The variation originated in the country's settlement and migration patterns.
People with similar cultural backgrounds tended to concentrate and migrate together.
As the western frontier expanded, settlers with more socio-cultural commonalities
tended to migrate in similar patterns and maintain a sense of cultural cohesion in the
newly opened westward frontier. We can observe the similarities between the
Kentucky Shakers of the Pleasant Hill and South Union villages and their Southern
neighbors by analyzing cultural commonalities. Examples of cultural indicators
examined for evidence of regional variation include: folkways, organizational and
leadership patterns, foodways and political environments. Material culture, including
architecture, furniture, clothing and textiles are also considered in the regional comparison between Kentucky's Shakers and the remainder of the sect. The Kentucky
Shakers were in a very unique environment, as no other Shaker settlements were
situated in a slavery territory. Their geographical locale, in a strategically critical
border area during the Civil War, caused the Kentucky communities to endure
significant hardships not experienced by other villages during the War Between the
States. In many ways the Shakers of Kentucky had more in common with their
neighbors of the Upper South than they did with the other members of their sect in Ohio
and the Northeastern states. These differences with the remainder of the sect caused
considerable problems for the Kentucky Shakers. The cultural variations of the
Kentuckians were also sources of rich uniqueness that made the Southern Shakers
perhaps the most fascinating adherents to the religious movement.