The Shaker Museum and Library is located in Old Chatham, New York which is in rural Columbia County. The Shaker Museum and Library is the premier center for the interpretation and exhibition of Shaker life and culture.
The collections of the Shaker Museum and Library include Shaker furniture, oval boxes, textiles, craft machinery, art, tools and agricultural machinery. The Shaker Library holds a host of archival materials including books and historic pictures.
The Shaker Museum is open to the public on a seasonal basis and features special events and educational programs. The Museum library is open year round, by appointment only.
The Mount Lebanon Project, which would unite Americas most significant Shaker collection with Americas most significant Shaker site in New Lebanon, NY, is the focus of the Museum at this time (please use the button to the left to visit the Mount Lebanon site and learn more about the project). The World Monuments Fund lists the Mount Lebanon site in 2004 and 2006 on its Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world, stating that our collections and the Mount Lebanon buildings together could provide "an unparalleled resource for the study of the American Shaker movement, an important and fascinating aspect of American cultural, religious and material history".
