Shaker Church Family Dwelling House, State Route 4A, Enfield, Grafton County, NH

Significance: Unusually large and heavy masonry structure for this area. The largest of several remaining buildings of a defunct Shaker colony. Characteristically Shaker in its lack of decoration and austerity. / The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, organized a communal society at Enfield, New Hampshire in 1793. In time, the self-contained society acquired over 300 members and 3,000 acres of land, and developed numerous industries. The Church Family Dwelling House, built between 1837 and 1841, was the largest dwelling built by the Shakers. Although built largely by the Shakers themselves, the society employed some help from the "world's people" in the design and construction of the building. The building's simple, Greek Revival design is attributed to the prominent American architect, Ammi Burnham Young, who later became Supervising Architect of the Treasury. Luther Kingsley, a Boston stonemason, was contracted to assemble the wall of locally quarried white granite. An unusual feature of this structure was the system of heavy timber trusses within the floors and walls of the third and fourth floors. These trusses supported the upper floors to allow a second floor meeting room to extend the full width of the building, 54'-4", uninterrupted by columns. The dwelling house was the most distinctive structure at Enfield. It was one of the earliest stone structures designed by Young and was probably the largest stone building north of Boston when constructed. Widely acclaimed after its completion in 1841, it represents a major undertaking for its time.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-56
Survey number: HABS NH-75
Building/structure dates: 1837- 1841 Initial Construction