Pleasant Hill Shaker village in central Kentucky, an interpreted historic site open to the public for day visits, overnight lodging, and conferences, is a powerful and complex place to visit. As I have explored it archaeologically since the early 1990s, I have observed both a high density of architectural features and some very unusual ones. In this chapter, I try to find a context to better understand some unusual archaeological features at a washhouse at Pleasant Hill and to make sense of its overall gendered landscape. I begin with a brief historical overview of the community, followed by an analysis of the archaeological material and the new insights it provides. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the challenges in the preservation of the gendered landscape.
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Shaker Journals Cited
Most Shaker journal entries have been cited from notes on file or complete copies of journals at the research library at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, Inc. Locations of originals are provided below.
Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky
Centre Family Journal, Pleasant Hill, 1843–1868
Vol. 5, Temporal Journal Book B
Western Reserve Historical Society Shaker Collection, Cleveland, Ohio
Journal of Trip to West taken by Prudence Morrell and Elissa Share, Reel 6
Journey to Kentucky in the Year 1873, by Henry C. Blinn
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McBride, K.A. (2010). The Importance of an Ordered Landscape at Pleasant Hill Shaker Village: Past and Present Issues. In: Baugher, S., Spencer-Wood, S. (eds) Archaeology and Preservation of Gendered Landscapes. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1501-6_11
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