Shaker Community Grew To Three

In 2025, the last active Shaker community in the United States grew from two residents to three when a 59-year-old woman named April Baxter moved into Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester, Maine. She entered as a novice and must live there for five years before the community can accept her as a full member. The celibate Christian sect began in England in 1747 and later grew to about 5,000 believers in communities from Indiana to Maine. Because Shakers do not have children, they have relied on converts, making it difficult to sustain their numbers.

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