NEW GLOUCESTER — Shaker leader Brother Arnold Hadd and Director Michael Graham have announced that they have received the required $500,000 match from the trustees of a single, anonymous charitable fund. The $1 million restoration of the Shakers’ Great Barn is due to commence in the spring 2023.

It has been just a little over a week since Shaker Village received news of its $500,000 grant from the National Park Service Save America’s Treasures program for the Shaker Great Barn. The Save America’s Treasures grant requires a 1:1 match, according to a news release from the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village.

In 2021, the trustees of the same charitable fund provided the Shakers with $330,000 to remove and restore the original slate roof of their massive 1883 brick Dwelling House, designed by Portland architect Francis Fassett. The trustees were impressed with the caliber of historic preservation performed by Maine’s Heritage Company and Preservation Timber Framing, and directed by Hadd and Graham. When they learned of the Save America’s Treasures Grant, they jumped on the opportunity to provide matching funds to restore the Shakers’ Great Barn.

“It’s absolutely a dream coming true. While these structures are monuments to Shaker culture and history, they are also irreplaceable. Without immediate interventions, the Dwelling House, the Yellow Garage, and the Great Barn were each facing imminent failure and immeasurable risk to life and property. The recent Save America’s Treasures grant combined with other donations have eliminated risks to those buildings. Now, the Shakers and everyone else can rest a bit easier knowing that some of the most important parts of Shaker Village will be safe, secure, and usable for another century or more,” said Graham.

“We’ve always done everything possible to be good stewards of this place. We have always taken care of our home, but now we need help, more help than ever before, so that this place continues to be a blessing to future generations of Shakers and seekers of all kinds. These grants and contributions will make that all possible,” said Hadd.

In a little over a year’s time, Hadd, Graham, the Shaker Village staff, and a team of supporters, architects, consultants, and contractors have raised $1.42 million from competitive grants and private funds for the Dwelling House roof, the 1910 Yellow Garage, and now the 150-foot megastructure Shaker Great Barn.

The Dwelling House roof is complete. Repairs to the historic 1910 Yellow Garage will be complete in a matter of weeks. Repairs on the Great Barn will commence in the spring of 2023 and will be complete in 2025.

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