{"nrhp_refnum":"73001160","name":"Watervliet Shaker Historic District","other_names":["See Also:Watervliet Shaker Historic District (Boundary Incre"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Watervliet Shaker Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Colonie","county":"Albany County","state":"NY","lat":42.739934379500056,"lon":-73.81776842853282,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-02-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture","Religion","Social History","Invention"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of Shaker community buildings in Colonie, Albany County, New York, seven miles northwest of Albany, made up of the Church Family, South Family and West Family building clusters, with the Shaker cemetery and Mill Pond. Buildings date from about 1820 to 1920.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the site of the first Shaker settlement in the United States, from which Shaker influence spread to other regions. Mother Ann Lee is buried in its cemetery. It is also noted for its Shaker architecture, its seed and broom industries, inventions and surviving family layouts. The district is considered a cultural resource of national significance.","narrative":"Seven miles northwest of Albany, in Colonie, this district preserves three clusters of buildings from the first Shaker settlement in the United States: the Church, South and West Families. Mother Ann Lee and seven followers reached New York in 1774 and settled on swampy land that the community gradually drained, creating the Mill Pond. Her burial place is in the district's cemetery. The Shakers here built a prosperous economy on garden seeds and corn brooms, and a large broom shop at the West Family reflects that production. By the mid-1800s they owned 3,000 acres and about 150 buildings. The surviving brick and frame structures, dating from roughly 1820 to 1920, still show the family layout, with buildings grouped at right angles like a college quadrangle. The West Family buildings remain the most architecturally pure, while the Church Family buildings were altered after the State bought them in 1926. Archeological sites of vanished mills and shops also lie within the boundaries.","period_of_significance":"1775-1938","architect_builder":"Bruster and Allen, master masons (Brethren's Shop, 1822)","architectural_style":"Shaker architecture","criteria":[],"status_note":"Mixed condition and use: the Church Family buildings are occupied by the Ann Lee Home, a county home for the aged, and the West and South Family buildings are privately owned. Many Church Family buildings have been demolished or refaced, and some structures have been altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.531341-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/73001160.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001160/7590a0df45-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001160/7590a0df45-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Original uploader was Akrubin at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shaker-mill-stone.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Original uploader was Akrubin at en.wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shaker-mill-stone.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"73002247","name":"Watervliet Shaker Historic District (Boundary Increase)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/watervliet-shaker-historic-district-boundary-increase-73002247/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316377","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watervliet_Shaker_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7974558"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/albany-county/watervliet-shaker-historic-district-73001160/"}