On the way back from the Battle of Perryville (see related post), I decided to stop in at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill to pick up a book and shoot some glorious fall photographs. I was not disappointed!

 

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, located in the midst of lush Bluegrass meadows and rolling topography, is a unique destination in the heart of central Kentucky. As the largest restored Shaker community in the United States, it boasts 34 restored structures on 2,900 acres, including serene pastures and hardwood forests.

 

You can see the whole set here -- filed under "2008 Photographs."

 

1 A Swedish cow ... much more stocky and cute!

 

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5 West Family Dwelling

 

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8 East Family Brethen's Shop

 

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Enjoy! More after the jump.

Beautiful photos. I've long wanted to go there, but somehow I never think of it until too late in the year, after it's shut down for winter.

 

You might like New Harmony, Indiana. It's an Indiana DNR site that intermingles with a charming small city. The Harmonists were a communal society culturally similar in some ways to the Shakers, and the two groups engaged in some commerce wth each other. I think you could have a great time with your camera there.

Shaker Village?  Who knew?!  Nice pics.

Cute town.

Shaker Village? Who knew?! Nice pics.

 

Well, it's more trendy than your Fort Totten reject.

I think they are open all winter, and late fall is an exceptionally beautiful time to go.  I would recommend spending the night if you can.  I recently did a blog post on this.

http://www.citykin.com/2008/09/shaker-village-at-pleasant-hill-ky.html

From your blog,

^That is High Bridge, which was actually rebuilt from an earlier trestle.

 

Young's High Bridge, which is pretty close, is just as impressive IMO.

 

Nice photos and writeup. It is a magnificent place, and has damn good food. Lodging accommodations are quite nice although you won't find flat screen televisions in your room. And you sleep on hand-crafted reproduction Shaker furniture made _on site_.

 

If you get a chance, read Restoring Shakertown. It's fascinating to learn just how decrepit this village was only 50 years ago!

The guy giving the boat tour on the Kentucky river said that 100 years ago the railroad offered very popular day trips from Cincinnati to this bridge, in which city dwellers would go deep into KY to picnic.  He said the train fee round trip was $1.