South Union Shaker Village owes its existence today to Deedy Price Hall, a tireless collector of Shaker objects and an advocate for historic preservation. Born in 1904 in Auburn, just three miles from South Union, Deedy grew up hearing stories about the Shakers and living with furniture that her parents had bought when the village closed. That proximity somehow ignited in her a lifelong interest in the Shakers.
In 1926, Deedy married Curry Hall, a farmer she met while attending the University of Kentucky. Nine years later, the couple purchased the Shakers’ former sugar maple farm on the outskirts of Auburn, including a large frame house, the rear portion of which had been built by the Shakers. Mrs. Hall furnished one room in the house with “Shaker antiques” given to the newlyweds by her parents. Over time, friends started gifting her with Shaker furniture and other objects they had bought at the South Union auction. Mrs. Hall realized she would need a larger place to house her growing collection.
Creating a Museum
In the late 1950s, Deedy Hall traveled with her mother and three friends to visit the Shakers in Canterbury, New Hampshire. Upon hearing Mrs. Hall’s story, the Eldresses encouraged her to open a Shaker Museum in Auburn. When she returned home, Deedy asked her husband if she might have “just one little corner” for a Shaker exhibit in an old church building on their property. Within a few weeks, she could tell they needed more space. So, she would later recount, “we just pushed him out all together.”
When the Shaker Museum opened in Auburn, Kentucky in 1960, it was one of the first of its kind. At the time, the only museum devoted solely to the Shakers was located in Old Chatham, New York. Even with few examples and limited resources, Mrs. Hall grasped her museum’s significance as a vehicle to preserve the richness of a culture that was quickly fading from memory. She staged objects and asked her friends to volunteer as docents, providing visitors with an immersive Shaker experience.
“Shakertown Revisited”
Mrs. Hall worked tirelessly to bring attention to the preservation of South Union history. One of her most cherished events, a historical pageant known as “Shakertown Revisited,” drew hundreds of visitors with its annual performance made possible by local volunteers. Beginning in 1962 and presented annually until 1990, the pageant garnered significant community support and national publicity. The production was staged in the Auburn High School gymnasium for the first five years, then moved to the historic site of South Union in 1967.
“Shakertown Revisited” was the museum’s biggest fundraiser until the late 1980s when it became more and more difficult to find enough volunteers to mount the production.
Preserving South Union
Throughout the 1960s, Mrs. Hall made persistent visits to the state capital in Frankfort to solicit financial support. Her dream to move the museum collection to the actual historic site of the South Union village finally came true in 1971. Gov. Louie B. Nunn matched locally-raised funds for a total of $70,000, allowing the museum to purchase the Centre House, the Smoke & Milk House and three acres of the original Shaker farm. When asked about this milestone, Mrs. Hall modestly replied, “I think Governor Nunn just got tired of seeing me up there.” The collection was moved from the Shaker Museum in Auburn to the Centre House in 1972 and major exterior restoration began in 1976.
A Shaker Legacy
Deedy Hall continued in her volunteer role as director of the museum until 1980. Even after retiring from daily work, she remained active as a member of the Board of Directors for more than a decade. Mrs. Hall’s enthusiasm for the preservation of South Union Shaker history never wavered.
By the time of Deedy Hall’s death in 1992, South Union Shaker Village was drawing 15,000 visitors a year. She would not live to see the historic site grow from three acres to nearly five hundred, nor celebrate the acquisition and restoration of additional original Shaker buildings. Yet, she left half of her estate to South Union Shaker Village, helping to establish an endowment that is still in place today. Deedy Hall’s dedication to the preservation of South Union history created a nationally-recognized museum and historic site. It continues to tell the ever-developing Shaker story that she was so driven to share.
South Union Shaker Village is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am until 4pm. For more information:
Website: www.SouthUnionShakerVillage.com
Facebook: South Union Shaker Village
Instagram: southunionsv
-submitted by South Union Shaker Village
