We'd visited the 'village' around 20 years ago and were in the vicinity so decided to reacquaint ourselves. We enjoyed the first visit and this second one did not disappoint. It was quiet so we almost had the 'village' to ourselves. There were a few guides in some of the buildings and we had interesting chats with them. All the buildings and exhibits are interesting and we coveted many pieces of furniture! You can buy some of the chairs, I believe they are can be sent flat pack (or assembled) but are very expensive. The shop is huge but it wasn't as good as I remembered. I'm recall more differing Shaker items for sale then (we bought lots that first visit).

Very interesting outdoor museum. Many well kept Shakers’ buildings, lots of learning options with QR codes, talks or just by asking the personnel. Nice casual food at the cafeteria, with outdoor seating. Lovely gardens. Really nice souvenir shop with lots of handmade crafts, pricey but great quality. There is a picnic area and enough parking!

There's so much to see and read about. We spent over 4 hrs here, including a delicious Shaker turkey sandwich lunch at the cafe. We took a garden and farm tour and the guide was very knowledgeable. We didn't take part in other talks. The barn is fascinating, and it's fun to get close to the animals. We spent a good long time in the brick dwelling, reading all of the signs and visiting the rooms. They've done an excellent job of preserving artifacts and knowledge. We did not cross the street to see the other buildings. We were baffled by the celibacy. Obviously, they couldn't sustain the population without procreation. The Downside for me is that I could not get internet service with Verizon on the property. The audio program was useless. I kept trying all over. Wifi worked in the cafe and close by. When I got home, I listened to many of the audio snippets and enjoyed them.

Worth putting on your must do list. Our day began with a Discovery Tour that we had signed up for on the website. It started an hour before the Village opened to the public which gave us the opportunity to take in the vistas without the modern world intruding for the moment. The tour was about Shaker woodworking, from small everyday items to the buildings themselves. Our guide for the tour was John, an affable chap brimming with information and answers to question. This was a good introduction to life in the Shaker Hancock community. From there we spent the rest of the day going through the various buildings, displays and gardens. We enjoyed presentations on gardening and Shaker dance and song. The Round Stone Barn is the anchor of the property and one of the most interesting and innovative barn designs we've seen. Cows, goats, sheep, pigs and chickens are a part of the farm experience. A Discovery barn is near by for the wee folk to learn and play in. We stopped mid afternoon for lunch and a break from the heat at the delicious(and nicely cool) Wood Life Kitchen adjacent to the museum store and ticket office. Amazed at every turn by the ingenuity and conviction of the Shakers, we could have spent more time there. We can highly recommend this for young and old as an excellent history lesson and an insight to a religion and way of life that is very quickly disappearing.

Visiting HSV is a treat and a throwback in time. The store on the premises is an even bigger treat. They have a wonderful selection of goods and my personal favorite is Pear Butter that I order throughout the year. It is such a pleasure to do business with Jennifer H, the store manager. She is knowledgeable, efficient, personable, and cares about her customers. Stop by and say hi!

We had a wonderful visit we were there for 3 hours and could have stayed longer. There are so many different buildings to go in each displaying a different aspect of the Shaker way of life. Many of them had very knowledgeable staff inside who were able to tell us about the history and development of the village. The interior of the stone barn is just as it would have been when in use with the cattle stalls where the cows were milked. We were given an excellent talk on how it worked and loved seeing all the animals in the area behind it. There are several talks going on throughout the day and we managed to go to the one in the machine/ laundry building. Here the turbine was switched on which then produced power for the machines so these could be demonstrated bringing the whole place to life . We also had interesting talks with the wood maker and the oval box maker. It’s wonderful to see these old skills preserved. There’s a nice cafe on site and a well stocked gift shop. Certainly worth a visit.