Hancock Shaker Village to Break Ground on New Visitor Center and Shaker Studies Hub
After years of planning, construction on a new center for visitors and research will soon begin.
An early rendering of the future center.
Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield will break ground this June on a long-envisioned Visitor Center & Center for Shaker Studies, marking the first phase of a long-term master plan to enhance both the visitor experience and its ability to care for its historical collection. The new space is intended to provide a more substantial entrance experience to the historic village and new opportunities for education, engagement, and research on Shaker culture.
The project has been decades in the making. After years of design, strategic planning, and a large fundraising campaign, the museum will soon begin construction on new galleries, accessible climate-controlled storage, a research library, and expanded community and event spaces. The new center will be designed by architectural firm TSKP x IKD.
“This project has been a vision of the organization for 25 years,” says Carrie Holland, Hancock Shaker Village’s director and CEO. “It’s exciting to see it finally come to fruition in a way that will deeply enrich how we share the Shaker story and preserve this important part of American history.”
Home to more than 22,000 artifacts—including furniture, textiles, tools, and watercolors—Hancock Shaker Village is one of the largest Shaker collections in the world. Many of these objects have long been stored out of public view due to limited gallery space. The renovation will double the size of the village’s collection storage and feature open-storage elements, allowing visitors a closer look at some of its most iconic and rarely seen pieces.
The new center is conceived as both an entrance point and interpretive lens: guests will begin their visit with orientation materials that introduce core themes of Shaker life—innovation, simplicity, community, racial and gender equality—before entering the physical grounds of the Village. Officials say, in a statement released on April 7, that the center will serve as a space for visitors to explore the values of this religious community in the context of contemporary life.
Board of trustees member and building committee chair Harlow Murray emphasizes the significance of the project: “Hancock Shaker Village has an incredible collection that not only needs to be protected but should be accessible—for both public enjoyment and scholarly study. This renovation will make that possible.”
The $10 million campaign, dubbed the Shaker Legacy Campaign, has already secured $8 million in commitments, enabling the organization to move forward with construction while continuing to fundraise. Newly appointed director of development and special projects, Elissa Haskins-Vaughan, notes that the museum is still actively seeking support from individuals and foundations who are passionate about American history.
While the Visitor Center will be closed during construction starting in June, Hancock Shaker Village will remain open to the public throughout the 2025 season. (The museum will open for the season on April 12 with the return of the Baby Animals Festival). Visitor services will be temporarily relocated, and the construction zone will be limited to one area of the campus.
Board Chair Bob Plotz sees the renovation as a key step in a broader, strategic reimagining of the entire institution. “The new Visitor Center is the first piece of a long-term plan to revitalize the Village. It’s a major leap forward for Hancock Shaker Village and for the preservation of this important legacy.”
