Shaker Trustee Historic Building Exterior Escape Stairway Royalty-Free Stock Photo

The Watervliet Shakers, like all Shaker communities, were almost self-sufficient, raising their own food and producing their own clothing and machinery. They purchased a limited range of goods from outsiders, principally iron, which they worked into hardware and tools in their own workshops. Shakers built was utilitarian and often balanced in design from one side to the other—for example, the two large fireplaces at opposite ends of the dwellings. Interiors were divided into two nearly identical halves, each served by a separate staircase, because Shaker brothers lived on one side and Shaker sisters on the other. The Trustee building was where outside trade with the `World`s People` was conducted. Their economy depended on this commerce. Shaker elders selected trustees to manage the community`s commerce.