Shaker Village escaped the heavy snow that hit Washington, DC and the mid-Atlantic states during the first full weekend of February.
We were glad to avoid all that shoveling. However, we need more snow or we risk losing many plants to the cold air. Snow is a great insulator and is often called “the poor man’s fertilizer.” The Sabbathday Lake Shakers have a longstanding farming history that goes back to the 1700s.
The village is still a working farm today including livestock, apples and herbs. The Shakers are raising Scottish Highland cattle for the first time in their history-they are an interesting breed and visually are mistaken for buffalo by many of our visitors.
This e-mail will tell you a lot more about herbs-an ongoing farm industry here. You can become involved with herbs and herbology at a variety of levels. This e-mail can be a starter course for a new pursuit. During the 2010 season we will be offering herb workshops led by Betsy-Ann Golon, our herbalist, who will also offer a two-month herb garden internship-for details visit www.shaker.lib.me.us or request a free flyer with details about the workshops and the internship-you can also call (207)926-4597.
Please also visit us at the Shaker Booth at the 2010 Portland (ME)Flower Show from March 10-14.
Excerpt from The Shaker Quarterly – Summer 1963
THE SHAKERS AS HERB GROWERS
by Sr. Frances A. Carr
Shakers were among the first in this country to market herbs on a large scale. When their societies were formed, the Believers were limited as to accommodations for the care of the sick; consequently, it was the natural thing that they, whose early existence and livelihood had depended largely on the soil, should recognize and utilize the medicinal qualities in the wild roots, herbs and other plants that grew in abundance about them. Although they were used by the Shaker Families from early times and some had been sold to enable them to obtain medicines, herbs were not prepared for sale until 1800.
The first record of herbs sold was recorded at the Mount Lebanon Society on January 21, 1821, under “articles sold” and read: “for herbs, $1.15.” To this date, only wild herbs had been gathered, but a demand was soon created for more Shaker herbs and in order to meet this need, large tracts of land were cultivated for the purpose of raising them.
What plants or herbs were first grown is not known, but to meet the growing requirement for them, it became necessary to purchase certain varieties from all parts of America as well as from abroad. By 1826, such items as red rose, sweet marjoram, cicuta extract, saffron and lobelia were being imported by the Shakers.
Once established at Mount Lebanon, the herb industry was supervised by Bros. Eliab Harlow and Garrett Lawrence, under whose oversight a more systematic and scientific method was put into effect, giving special attention to the seasons for collecting the varieties of herbs and methods of preparation. Names of plant species were obtained from the various manuals of botany (1817-1840) by Amos Eaton of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.
The following selection of plants and herbs give some idea of those popular during the year 1827, the names and prices of which were found in an old ledger and which are indicative of the variety sold:
2 lbs. skunk cabbage root $ .75
1 lb. lycopus virginicus .50
1/4 lb. cicuta extract & jar .37 1/2
10 lbs. herbs @ 30 cents 3.00
40 lbs. herbs ‘for vapor bath’ 12.00
1 barrel green texas 4.00
1 box herbs as pr. invoice 46.50
1 box herbs and extracts 34.80
1 jar violet blossoms .50
2 doz. bottles syrup liverwort 18.00
herbs & pills 158.00
1 lb. sweet marjoram .75
15 lbs. marshmallow 4.50
liatris roots .37 1/2
2 oz. peppermint oil & phial .56
6 lbs. whiteroot @ 50 cents 3.00
6 lbs. foxglove @ 30 cents 1.80
6 lbs. barks 1.80
Other items entered that same year do not include prices; these were: saffron, stramonium leaves, bittersweet, elder flowers, coltsfoot, bugle, mugwort, fleabane, basil, elm bark, horehound, sage, skullcap, spearmint, thyme, boneset, wild lettuce extract, borage, maidenhair and hyssop.
The year 1832 saw an ever-increasing demand for Shaker herbs and it became necessary to erect a large building in which to carry on the industry. The structure was well equipped with what in that day was considered the most modern of equipment. Driers, distillers and grinders increased the speed and efficiency of the work while long counters extending down the center were used by the sisters for boxing, packaging, and labeling the herbs for market. One old journal records that “air in the herb houses was filled with the scent of potpourri and sweet lavender.”
About this time more attention was given to the preparation of extracts. From past records we learn that the more popular during the year 1834 appear to have been cicuta, henbane, stramonium, hop, belladonna, butternut, dandelion, boneset and garden lettuce. Accounts kept at Mount Lebanon give an idea of the rapid increase of the industry. In 1831 about 4,000 lbs. of roots and herbs were sent to market, in 1836 it had increased to 6,000 lbs. and in 1849 it had reached 16,500 lbs. By 1850 it became apparent that enlargements both to the house and machinery of the herb industry must be undertaken. A steam boiler and vacuum pan added to the efficiency and in 1852 a twelve-horsepower steam engine was purchased.
The amount of herbs pressed at Mount Lebanon in 1850 was not less than 21,000 lbs. plus 7,000 lbs. of extract. By 1853 the amount of roots, barks and herbs pressed amounted to 42,000 lbs., while the extract amounted to 7,500 lbs. During this period the herb industry grew and flourished and was considered the most important of the Shaker industries.
Though each Society grew and sold herbs of all kinds, there seems to have been one within each that was more widely known and sold. From Mount Lebanon came Mother Siegal’s Syrup or “Shaker Extract of Roots” as it was often known. The formula for this syrup originated in Germany and was brought to this country about 1868.
Another much wanted herb medicine from Mount Lebanon was “Seven Barks”; this compound of fluid extracts in tincture form contained the following ingredients: blue flag, butternut, stone root, goldenseal, sassafras, bloodroot and black cohosh. The usual dose was five to twenty drops.
Of all Mount Lebanon preparations, none received the acclaim or was more extensively used than the “Shaker Veratrum Viride” (American Hellebore). A perennial herb of the United States, its roots make a powerful cathartic. Considered a cure for almost every known malady or illness, doctors from all over the country testified to its therapeutic powers. Writing on “Therapeutic powers and properties of Veratrum Viride”, Dr. W. C. Norwood of Cokesbury, South Carolina, had this to say: “the first power or property we notice is that it is acrid, producing a peculiar warm and biting sensation in the mouth. It excites rapid and continuous sneezing when the least quantity of the powdered root is applied to the nostrils. It is also rubefacient, producing burning and redness when the tincture is applied to the surface, thereby often relieving pain. It is a certain and valuable emetic, inducing free and easy vomiting.” Used in the treatment of typhoid fever, pneumonia, scarlet fever, croup and whooping cough, it was not a narcotic with habit-forming powers but rather, a nervine. In recent years this drug has enjoyed nenewed popularity as is evidenced by numerous articles published in contemporary medical journals.
The Believers of Canterbury, New Hampshire, were fortunate in having Br. Thomas Corbett to supervise their herb industry. At thirty-three, his interest and considerable knowledge of herbs and medicine prompted Father Job Bishop and Mother Hannah Goodrich to ask him to take up the study of medicine. Soon he became a much respected physician, contributing valuable service to his home, compounding the famous “Corbetts’s Shaker Sarsaparilla” as well as the equally renowned “Witch Hazel Tooth Ache Pellets”.
“Brown’s Fluid Extract of English Valerian” compounded at Enfield, New Hampshire, by Br. Samuel Brown of that Society remained in demand as late as 1897, though he died in 1856. From his youth and for many years, he worked closely with Br. Ezekiel Evans, who was charged with raising and preparing herbs for the market. Their work contributed considerably to the advance of the herb industry at Enfield.
While the societies in Maine had raised medicinal herbs since the first decade of the nineteenth century, they had not gained the reputation of the Mount Lebanon or New Hampshire societies. Records do show that by 1825 the cultivation and packaging of herbs was profitably engaged in at the New Gloucester Society. By 1864, when the Society issued its first printed catalogue of herbs, roots, barks and powders, there were 155 medicinal preparations offered in bulk as well as four sweet herbs for kitchen use. In 1881, doctors and druggists throughout Maine became acquainted with a new Shaker herb preparation; the “Shaker Tamar Laxative” soon became the most widely known of all herb preparations compounded there, an industry that proved to be a huge financial success until the 1890′s.
Sage was another popular herb sold by the New Gloucester Society. On March 31, 1874, five barrels of herbs were packed and sent to Portland. Nineteen years later, Br. William Dumont, then supervising the herb industry, sent five barrels of sage to the Thompson and Leighton firm, also in Portland.
A substantial part of the Shaker pharmaceutical trade, both buying and selling, was with wholesalers, though some business was done with retailers and individual friends of the communities. Orders and inquiries came from practically every part of the country and from England, Australia, and France.
Though most Shaker herbs were medicinal agents, there were other uses. The “fragrant waters”, particularly rose water, were sold as perfumes. Lovage root, wild flagroot and horehound were used in confections. Yellow dock was sold to manufacturers of a well-known sarsaparilla. Sumac, madder, logwood, goldenrod and various barks such as butternut, oak, swamp maple, hemlock, chestnut and witch hazel were sold and used at home in the preparation of vegetable dyes.
Like so many other Shaker industries, the herb business soon met strong competition from the industrial world. Large drug manufacturers were able to produce and distribute medicines at a fraction of the cost encountered by Shakers. Nevertheless, Shaker herbs found an important place in the history of American medicine and though they were surpassed by this competition, their influence is still felt in many of the leading pharmaceutical preparations of the present age.
Contact Information
for Sabbathday Lake Shaker Library and Museum and Herb Departments
Mailing address:
United Society of Shakers
707 Shaker Road
New Gloucester, ME 04260
(207) 926-4597
Library email only: brooks1@shaker.lib.me.us
Office email: usshakers@aol.com
Directions to the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Museum and Library
The Shaker Village is located on Route 26, approximately 8 miles north of Exit 63 of the Maine Turnpike in Gray, Maine, and 8 miles west of Exit 75 (Auburn).
The Village is 25 miles north of Portland, and 12 miles west of Lewiston-Auburn.
From the south (Boston, Portland): Take Gray-Exit 63 off the Maine Turnpike. At the traffic light at the toll booth turn left to Route 26A. Go to the next set of traffic lights and bear right into Route 26A. Stay on Route 26A until it merges with ROUTE 26 NORTH. Follow ROUTE 26 NORTH for approximately eight miles to Shaker Village (watch for large black and white road signs).
From the North (Augusta, Bangor): Take Auburn Exit 75 off the Maine Turnpike. Turn right at the toll booth onto Routes 100, 4, 202. Follow that route for one mile and turn right onto Route 122. Follow Route 122 over hill and dale until you come to Route 26. Turn left onto Route 26 South. Follow Route 26 South for about 2 miles and you will be at the Shaker Village. The Village is about eight miles from Exit 12 (watch for road signs).
Meals are not available at the Village. A wide selection of restaurants are located within 10 minutes of the Village in the towns of Gray, New Gloucester, Poland, and Auburn.
For information about area accommodations, call the Maine Office of Tourism at 1-888-624-6345.
Other places to visit in the area:
- Maine State Building (998-4142)
- Maine Wildlife Park (657-4977)
- Olin Arts Center (786-6158)
- Outlet Beach on Sabbathday Lake (926-3388)
- Pineland Farms (688-4539)
- Poland Spring Bottling Plant (998-4315)
- Poland Spring Preservation Park (998-7143)
- Range Pond State Park (998-4104)
