57. Pleasant Hill, Kentucky

Day 57:  Monday, August 17, 1981
Berea and Pleasant Hill:  0 miles!

If yesterday was a rest day with only 30 miles of riding, then today was a super rest day.  We didn't even touch our bicycles.  Instead, we drove to Pleasant Hill, north of Harrodsburg, and spent the day there.

Men and women slept separately, dormitory-style

Each building had separate entrances for men and women

Floors were kept uncluttered.

Pleasant Hill was one of a score of Shaker settlements in America.  It was most active from 1820 to 1850, and the last Shakers to live there died in 1910.  The lands and buildings are now in the hands of a private organization which began a restoration project in 1960.  Many of the buildings are open to the public, and Shaker arts and crafts are demonstrated.  Admission charge was $3.75, but it was worth it.

A cooper at work

You can buy a Shaker-style broom

A Shaker domestic goddess

Choo Choo showed up in camp in the evening.  She had spent a day in Bardstown, and had cycled about 90 miles today.  We met her on the road coming back from Pleasant Hill.

After supper (courtesy of Lena), we were going to watch the perennial Berea play about Appalachian history, but found that it had been canceled this year.  So we contented ourselves with window-shopping in Berea's arts-and-crafts district.