Education Week Participants at Canterbury Shaker Village
The program, which introduces participants ages 16 to 21 to careers in historic preservation trades, completed its February 23-27 session and will return for a second week, April 27 through May 1, 2026. Sessions take place at Canterbury Shaker Village, demonstrating how historic sites serve as active centers for education and workforce development.
“The Career Exploration program exemplifies exactly why the New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail remains so relevant today,” said Jeff Barraclough, Trail President. “Our member sites aren’t just repositories of the past – they’re dynamic educational centers where young people can connect with living traditions and build skills for the future.”
The hands-on program addresses a critical workforce shortage in preservation trades across the Northeast. In the program, participants engage with experienced mentors in timber framing, horse hair plastering, stone wall repair, slate and copper roofing, wood window restoration, electrical work, blacksmithing, and more.
Activities at Canterbury Shaker Village take place in the Horse Barn, Cart Shed, Power House, and Hubbard Gallery. The program will also take place at Sanborn Mills Farm in Loudon.
“We’re grateful to our hosts at Canterbury Shaker Village and Sanborn Mills Farm, and all the dedicated professionals and supporters who make this program possible,” said Althea Barton, who works on special projects for the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance. “All the young participants learn new things, and some end the week ready to commit to a chosen trade.”
At Canterbury Shaker Village, students will learn to apply wet plaster to wood lath, fish electrical wires through walls, build dry stone walls, make timber framing pegs and wood mallets, shape copper sheets, glaze wood windows, and install wood shingles on a 19th-century privy.
“The exposure to these specialized skills is one of the best ways to generate interest in pursuing these trades as actual careers,” said Garrett Bethmann, Manager of Communications and Engagement at Canterbury Shaker Village.
Many of the tradespeople featured during these weeks have been involved with different preservation and conservation projects at the Village. “They are showcasing actual skills and knowledge that are used both here and at other historic sites,” said Bethmann, who noted preservation is just as much about the future as it is history.
“Investing in opportunities to not only connect with our current preservation partners but also to educate and grow the next generation is a fulfilling and worthy cause,” he added.
The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance strengthens communities and local economies by supporting revitalization and protection of historic buildings and places, including through its Preservation Trades Initiative. In addition to Canterury Shaker Village, the New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail features members in the Lakes Region, White Mountains, Dartmouth-Sunapee Region, Merrimack Valley, and Seacoast.