Aerial View of Canterbury Shaker Village. Photo credit: Peter Bloch – EarthAerial Productions
“Canterbury is a portal into an intriguing, historic world—one where nearly 300 Shakers lived and worked together as a community for 200 years,” said Manager of Communications and Engagement Garrett Bethmann. “Whether you’re discovering it for the first time or returning after time away, we want people to rediscover why this place moves them and connect with who we are today.”
In 2026, an updated tour model introduces guests to the Canterbury Shakers and invites them to follow their curiosity through the property’s open spaces and buildings. The land comes alive this season through a new Bee House exhibition on the Shakers’ agricultural history and a pilot partnership with Sanborn Mills Farm that grows produce and brings traditional farming techniques to the gardens and greenhouses. A new monthly recreation group, the Movers and Shakers Trail Club, meets on the trails the last Saturday of every month.
“With the Meeting House and East House both undergoing restoration at once, this is a rare chance to see preservation happening in real time,” Bethmann added. “It shows the craft and dedication it takes to keep these buildings—one from 1792, one from 1810—alive for the next generation.”
“Canterbury Shaker Village is a treasure, and it’s one of many across the NH Heritage Museum Trail,” said Trail President Jeff Barraclough. “Each of our members opens a door to a different part of this state’s story. When you rediscover a place like Canterbury, you’re really rediscovering the heritage of New Hampshire itself.”
The NH Heritage Museum Trail features nearly two-dozen members in the Seacoast, Lakes Region, White Mountains, Dartmouth-Sunapee Region, and Merrimack Valley.