PITTSFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- Hancock Shaker Village, established in the late 18th century, encompasses 750 acres with 20 buildings and offers visitors a glimpse into one of the most intriguing religious movements in American history.

The movement started in 1747, and four decades later, seeking freedom to work, live and worship in their unique way, members of the Shakers settled in Western Massachusetts in the Berkshires and founded the Hancock Shaker village.

The village was the third of 19 Shaker villages established across the Northeast and parts of the Midwest throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. At its peak around 1840, more than 300 people — men, women and children — worked, lived and worshiped at the site.

“Shaker design is one of the iconic cultural references that we recognize now. But they did not intend that to be a thing,” said Carrie Holland, director and CEO of Hancock Shaker Village. “They weren’t saying ‘Oh, yeah. We’ll make these beautiful clean simple lines and people hundreds of years from now will love that and incorporate that into their home.’ That was certainly not the motivation.”

In their quest to create a utopian, God-centered life through communal living, simplicity and equality, Shakers dedicated themselves to work. Their motto “hands to work, hearts to God” resulted in functional and much-admired architecture and furniture.

“The adornment was not considered a part of their design. That was considered frivolous and unnecessary. If it didn’t have a function, then perhaps we don’t consider that,” Holland said. “So now in today’s time that simple usefulness and gorgeous use of material, natural material I think is part of what people really appreciate.”

The Shakers believed strongly in the equality of gender and races, a progressive idea for their time. While men and women lived in the same community, they had strictly separate living quarters. They also committed to a celibate lifestyle, including those who joined the movement as a married couple. Their vows dissolved, their children no longer theirs and instead raised communally.

“Because they believed in some radical things for the times, equality of gender, equality of race. Woman leadership was recognized,” Holland explained. “They wanted new people to join them but they also said, ‘this is how we’re living. It’s intentional. It might not be for everybody but we’re going to create our own form of utopia here and live with purpose. Live with value and so they created these villages that were fully self-sufficient.”

The villages had their own food system, commerce system and health system, allowing residents to live and fully function within the community.

Meals were segregated in the dining room — women separated from men — and were eaten quickly and in complete silence. Structure and efficiency guided their aim to live and work with the same integrity as their prayers.

“So there was structure throughout the whole day. Everyone had their responsibility. They knew what they were doing when they woke up. And there was a contribution everyone was expected to make from the time you were young, all the way to the time you were older,” Holland added.

For worship independent of their labor, members met communally with enthusiastic singing, dancing, shouting and trembling to “shake off” sin. This practice earned them the nickname “Shaking Quakers,” later shortened to Shakers.

The community lived in Pittsfield until the middle of the last century. Around the 1950s, the property became too large to maintain and the remaining Shaker sisters decided to move to another consolidated community in New Hampshire, Holland said.

The village they left behind remains today with 20 historic buildings, including the iconic round Shaker barn, and a working farm and garden open to the public. It is the most comprehensively interpreted Shaker site in the world and the oldest working farm in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

The site serves as a lasting testament to the Shakers’ significant influence on both American culture and design.

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